Gary City Councilwoman Ragen Hatcher wants to require all department heads as well as new employees to live within the city limits. The Post-Tribune doesn't think this is such a hot idea:
While it would be nice for Gary employees to want to live in the city, it is important to understand why 20 percent of the Gary workers live outside the city.
Councilwoman Marilyn Krusas, who represents the Miller and Aetna sections of the city, told Hatcher that public safety and the poor condition of the public schools are the two main reasons some Gary employees elect to live outside the city.
[. . .]
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay, the eternal optimist, contends that Gary is a safe city. We respectfully disagree. Gary won't be safe until narcotics are removed from the city streets.
But those city workers are empolyed by and paid for by the citizens of Gary and are responsible for the condition of the city, which includes, among other things, public safety. If the city is so unsafe that public employees feel they have to live outside the city, isn't that an admission that they aren't getting the job done and should be fired?
