Spring Valley to allow officers to live within 10 miles of town

Hiring new police officers was becoming difficult in Spring Valley, its police chief said, so the City Council amended residency requirements for all city employees in an effort to recruit more officer candidates.

“The stumbling block has been the fact that they don’t reside in town,” said Spring Valley Mayor Melaney Malooley-Thompson. “His pool has decreased and he is looking for good candidates, but he feels the current requirements prevent him from finding police officers.”

Prior to Monday night’s meeting, the ordinance said “municipal employees must live within 10 miles of the city of Spring Valley.” Police Chief Adam Curran said he asked for a similar 10-mile residency requirement for officers because of staffing issues.

“Unfortunately, police departments are competing with one another to get candidates to come to their department,” he said. “Less people are applying to be police officers, not only in this area but nationwide.”

“Staff shortages are a common thing, and the one way to entice people to stay at your department or draw them in is to have competitive pay rates and good benefits.”

The board was given three options based on residency requirements in other municipalities. La Salle, Princeton and Peru have a zero residency requirement.

Curran said the residency requirement can sway some applicants’ decisions on where they want to apply and have a career.

The options included erasing the requirement completely, another only applying to the police department, and the third just increasing the residency limit to 50 miles outside of the city.

Curran said he had a candidate that could “jump right in,” but he didn’t live within the 10 miles.

“Maybe he would move, maybe he wouldn’t, but if he doesn’t then we are probably going to have to test and we are probably going to be in trouble most of the summer because of overtime,” Curran said. “It’s going to put some wear and tear on my officers.”

He said the staffing shortages cause numerous hours of mandated overtime and will physically, mentally, and emotionally drain an officer after working many hours and the “wellness of the officers is of utmost concern.”

Alderman Ed Jauch made a motion for the board to approve a new ordinance saying “all Spring Valley department heads must reside within 10 miles from the city limits of the city of Spring Valley.”

The motion was approved 6-2. Alderman Mike Hermann and Greg Campbell voted no.

If an officer has the option of living out of town, which they already do, why does it matter if they live 10, 15 or 30 miles away if they can make it to work on time and have no absenteeism caused by living farther away.

—  Spring Valley Police Chief Adam Curran

Hermann said he voted against the new ordinance because it has the ability to affect other city departments and it may cause an issue if there is an emergency, such as a water main break or snow removal in the winter.

Campbell said he voted against the motion because he believes officers should live in the community they serve.

“I think if they serve my community they should live in my community. It’s that simple,” he said.

Curran disagreed and said it shouldn’t matter how far away an officer lives if they can make it to work on time.

“I live in the community I work for and tell the officers why this can be a benefit,” Curran said. “But if an officer has the option of living out of town, which they already do, why does it matter if they live 10, 15 or 30 miles away if they can make it to work on time and have no absenteeism caused by living farther away?”