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The status Wilmington's residency requirement is still up in the air

Quinn Kirkpatrick
/
Delaware Public Media

An ordinance to end Wilmington’s residency requirement for city employees did not get a vote at last night’s City Council meeting following fierce community opposition.

Ordinance 22-035 seeks to codify Mayor Mike Purzycki’s decision to stop enforcing the requirement. His administration argues it is invalid in the absence of City Council action after state lawmakers amended the City Charter, allowing Council to determine to what extent, if at all, employees must be residents.

Purzycki’s administration has not been enforcing the requirement since October 3rd when an internal announcement was made to council members.

41 residents spoke during the four hour meeting, with only four backing removal of the city’s residency requirement for employees.

The main argument for ending the requirement was the high vacancy rate in city jobs, and the difficulty in recruiting new hires, particularly in the police force.

But community activist and 1st district resident Coby Owens says the requirement is not what is stopping people from applying to the police department- it’s mistrust.

“So let’s talk about it. If y’all truly want to change recruitment- change your tactics, and change how you engage with the community. Become our neighbors, work together, build community together, break bread together,” said Owens.

But the ordinance never came to a vote, as its sponsor, Council Member Al Mills, decided to hold it. He says council has the power to get this right in the best interest of the community, but it needs more time.

“The debate that we’re having needs to be amongst council members. We don’t need to be in here debating and arguing with community members,” said Mills.

The council meeting was meant to give residents a clear answer on the status of the residency requirement’s enforcement, but they were left unsatisfied with the murky results.

Councilman Vincent White supports a residency requirement and questions the mayor’s ability to stop enforcing it. He says it is still in effect because council is the only power who can make those decisions, and Purzycki’s actions do not follow code.

“That was based on an opinion. An opinion is not a court ruling,” said White. “And so that's a little concerning. We already have some bad actors in this country who said they're not going to obey certain rules, subpoenas, etcetera.And I don't think it's the mayor's purpose to be deceitful, but I just think it's a conversation to say that we [city council] have the authority, we pass the laws, and as chief executive officer his duty is to enforce them.”

As for next steps, White says the council will begin discussion on what that will look like immediately- looking to find a compromise that will satisfy all parties.

“I think there's also a path regarding a possible temporary restraining order now that we have a vote. But that would be something that I would not want to do first. I think there was conversation in this room that if we would have coalesced around the suspension rules we would have gotten a bill that not only the council would have liked, but I think the administration would like also,” said White.

The ordinance will be put back on the agenda at a later meeting.

Quinn Kirkpatrick was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from the University of Delaware. She joined Delaware Public Media in June 2021.