Wis. Supreme Court Rules on Milwaukee Employee Residency Requirement

WISCONSIN - If you're a City of Milwaukee employee and are living in the suburbs - or want to live in the suburbs - you've got some good news today.

City of Milwaukee employees wishing to live outside city limits scored a victory today after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Milwaukee police officers can no longer be required to live in the city

According to a report by the Journal Sentinel on Thursday, the city had already agreed to stop enforcing their residency requirement. Thursday's ruling, however, establishes an official ruling on the matter from the state's highest court.

History

Milwaukee established their residency rule in 1938 as a matter of official employment policy.

That rule remained in effect until the state passed a law in 2013 barring residency requirements which, in effect, overruled Milwaukee's longstanding residency rules.

According to the Journal Sentinel, a Milwaukee County circuit judge in 2014 sided with the city unions and determined the state residency law trumped the city rule.

But in July, the 1st District Court of Appeals reinstated the city's residency rule.
The unions appealed, and the state Supreme Court agreed with them.

Majority Opinion

Justice Rebecca G. Bradley wrote in her majority opinion, "After examining the constitutional debates and practices surrounding the amendment's adoption, I conclude that a legislative enactment preempts a conflicting city charter ordinance under the home rule amendment only when the enactment both concerns a matter of statewide concern and with uniformity affects every city or village."

Dissenting Opinion

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote the following, "Instead of freeing municipalities from interference by the legislature when dealing with local affairs, the majority limits the power and restrains
the ability of municipalities to self-govern."