MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis voters will still get a chance to decide whether firefighters and police officers will be able to live up to 50 miles outside the city.
Currently, Memphis police officers hired after 2011 must live within Shelby County, but police officials say that’s hurting recruitment as they try to increase the number of officers.
In December, Memphis City Council members approved adding a residency referendum to the November 2020 ballot. The referendum would let the voters decide if the city’s police officers and firefighters should live within 50 miles of the city.
Some City Council members wanted that ballot question removed, but that failed in committee by a 5-7 vote on Tuesday.
Currently, officers and fire fighters must live within 50 miles of the city to work for either the Memphis Police Department or the Memphis Fire Department.
Some council members raised concerns about the idea back in December during a city council meeting.
The Memphis Police Department has been pushing to hire more officers to deal with staffing issues.
In 2018, Director of the Memphis Police Department Mike Rallings said that the department is not adequately staffed to help residents.
“For us to answer the almost 1 million calls a year and serve one of the largest cities in the nation, we need x amount of officers. 1,950 and 2,000 officers are not adequate to serve our city,” he said.