Chattanooga voters will decide March 4 whether to open city employment to residents of states other than Tennessee.
If a majority of voters respond favorably to a referendum question on the March 4 ballot, Chattanooga’s city charter would shift to permit government employees to live in Georgia, Alabama or other states, in addition to Tennessee. The change is a bid to boost the city’s recruitment of first responders, specifically.
The residency requirement for city employment used to be more stringent, and Chattanooga staff were once required to live within city limits.
But people in Georgia and Alabama aren’t necessarily further afield from Chattanooga than some Tennesseans, according to Damien Vinson, a captain in the Chattanooga Fire Department. Vinson deals with recruiting efforts for the department.
“The Chattanooga Fire and Police Departments are facing significant recruitment challenges due to an outdated residency rule that requires employees to live within Tennessee,” Vinson said in a press release. “Currently, a police officer or firefighter can legally commute over five hours from Memphis, Nashville or Knoxville but cannot commute five minutes from Rossville, Georgia, or nearby Alabama cities.”
(READ MORE: Chattanooga could soon hire first responders living outside Tennessee under new law)
Vinson’s remarks echoed those of Chattanooga Police Chief John Chambers, who told city council members last year that the residency requirement holds back recruiting efforts.
The city in the past year has tried to cut other restrictions on hiring some first responders. The council last year reduced the hiring age for firefighters from 21 to 18, though police still must be 21 by the time they complete the academy.
Vinson said over email that the age and residency changes might be implemented separately after applications for the next Chattanooga Fire Academy class open in late March.
In 2025, he said, the city met its goal of 38 recruits. But the city also expects to lose a handful of those hires to injuries, testing issues and other obstacles, he said. Of 431 budgeted positions, 424 have been filled.
“Rather than targeting a specific number of applicants, our priority is ensuring we have a strong pool of qualified candidates to select from,” he said.
Local hiring would remain a priority, he said in a press release.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga police, fire chiefs ask for vote lifting Tennessee residency requirement)
A few high-profile employees have been accused of violating the in-state requirement in the past year. Former Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy faces criminal charges tied to allegations that she gave a false Tennessee residence on official documents while maintaining a home in Atlanta. She resigned from the police force in late June, a day before a grand jury indictment against her went public.
Earlier this year, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Chattanooga’s chief planner, Dan Reuter, voted in the presidential election in Georgia — an act which requires residency in that state — while agreeing to work under the city’s residency requirement.
The referendum change enjoys wide support from Chattanooga’s elected officials. Members of the city council and the mayor, Tim Kelly, have expressed support for the measure. But some residents and public figures have said they have qualms about the move.
City council candidate Cory Hall, who is running against incumbent council member Isiah Hester, said in a January candidate forum that connecting current community members to local jobs was one of his priorities.
“I think one of my main goals would be to connect our community a little bit more — establish a true, incentivized notion for locals taking these jobs like fire department, the EMTs, the police department, because we need locals in these positions,” he said. “People won’t care about these areas more than the people that are from these areas.
“And at this exact moment, they’re trying to hire people from other states to come and work these jobs,” he said.
The referendum needs just a majority to pass, Hamilton County Administrator of Elections Scott Allen said by phone. Referendum questions are listed at the bottom of the ballot, and they don’t tend to bring people to the polls on their own, he said. This one might spark a little more interest, he said.
“I know there’s been a lot of attention put on this referendum,” he said. “It may help draw some people out.”
Contact Mariah Franklin at mfranklin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.