Rush-Kittle: Seeks OK to live officially in Rocky Hill.
Alders voted to advance a proposal to ease residency requirements for top city officials — but just current ones, at least for now.
The 6 – 0 vote took place at a meeting in City Hall of the Board of Alders Legislation Committee Tuesday night.
The vote approved a proposal submitted by the Elicker administration to allow “incumbent” holders of top city “coordinator” positions to seek exceptions from the Board of Alders to live outside New Haven. Currently coordinators must move into the city within six months of beginning their jobs.
The proposal affects only four top city positions: chief administrative officer, community services administrator, economic development administrator, and if a fourth currently vacant “coordinator” position is created and filled (as allowed under the city charter).
Officials must have already served in their jobs for 12 months, and they must still live no farther than 50 miles away from New Haven within Connecticut, to qualify for an exception, the proposal reads.
The alders would still have to approve permission for any of the officials to live outside New Haven. The coordinators would need to prove that living in New Haven poses a “hardship,” and first have that hardship evaluated in house before the alders consider the request. The city personnel director will review exemptions annually, reporting to the alders if action needs to be taken on any changes.
The proposal now goes before the full Board of Alders for a final debate and vote.
The city’s three current “coordinators” already live in New Haven. But one of them is seeking permission to live outside of New Haven: Chief Administrative Officer Regina Rush-Kittle, who oversees line departments like police and fire and parks.
Rush-Kittle’s name didn’t come up during Tuesday night’s hearing. Nor did she attend.
Still, a broader issue was at stake: A charter reform referendum passed in November allows the alders to consider easing residency rules for top officials on a more permanent basis. Alder Majority Leader Richard Furlow told the Independent after the hearing that the alders will consider that broader residency question in the future for coordinators and department heads. Board President Tyisha Walker-Myers is creating a working group to study how a broader policy will work.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero did address the broader principle at Tuesday’s hearing. She told the committee that easing residency rules would broaden the pool of qualified candidates for top positions. Bombero highlighted the strain on existing staff when positions remain unfilled. For instance, she noted, the city went three and a half years without a controller while it sought someone to fill the job, requiring the budget director to do both jobs.
Moreover, proponents pointed out that residing beyond New Haven’s borders could result in shorter distances to the workplace than some neighborhoods within the city, potentially enhancing emergency response capabilities. They also spoke of candidates needing to juggle challenges that come with having dual-income households.
Hill Alder Evelyn Rodriguez voiced concern at the hearing about the general idea of easing residency requirements, emphasizing the importance of coordinators being embedded in New Haven communities to grasp local issues fully.
City Corporation Counsel Patricia King, who wrote the ordinance and presented it at the hearing, emphasized that coordinators primarily oversee department heads rather than providing “direct service” to the residents. So their city of residence is less critical to their effectiveness, she argued.
Similarly, she noted, the proposal includes requiring officials to have served at least 12 months in the job and undergo an evaluation process before they could obtain an exception to live outside New Haven. That process will determine whether the applicant has exhibited strong performance and displayed sufficient commitment to their duties.
Rush-Kittle did not attend Tuesday night’s hearing. The mayor’s office released a written statement attributed to Rush-Kittle to the Independent. It quoted her as saying: “It has been a privilege working for the City of New Haven for the past two years, and I would enjoy continuing to serve in this role. At the same time, my family is based in Rocky Hill and, like other working families, I’d love to be able to do the job I love during the day and then commute home to be with family on the evenings and weekends. I’m appreciative of the Board of Alders consideration of the proposed ordinance and I’m hopeful that it will pass so that I can continue to serve the residents of New Haven.”
Why vote on residency requirements and look at allowing for exemptions to be honored when the city is turning a blind eye to the fact that they are allowing present positions to not follow the requirements that are in place? In the books the city requires our Superintendent of school to live in our city yet she continues to lives in the suburbs far from New Haven. Full time residence of our city is what is BBB expected of elected officials that is what was on the job description and agreement when she signed her contract. Our taxes go these salaries and leaders accepting them should be trusted to honor what they signed. All leaders should live and want to be part of our community not jump on the highway and only come here to work.