The McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Tuesday to expand the residency requirements for the city administrator position to include all of Warren County instead of just within city limits.
Mayor Ryle Chastain said the change is necessary because the current housing market makes it difficult for potential candidates to find affordable homes specifically inside the city. Chastain said requiring a massive financial transaction like selling a home and buying a new one at higher interest rates is not fair to applicants who already live in the surrounding county.
“I mean, we have multiple applicants who live in Warren County, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect them to just sell their home and have to move into the city limits just because they’re a city administrator,” Chastain said. “And if somebody’s lived in their home for 15 years and has a two-and-a-half percent interest rate and then they have to go buy a more expensive home with triple or quadruple that interest rate, that’s not fair.”
The board initially considered a proposal from Alderman Kara Youngblood to keep the city residency requirement but allow for case-by-case exceptions. Youngblood said it is important for the person leading city departments to pay city taxes and use city services like trash pickup and local roads.
“I think we need buy-in,” Youngblood said. “We need them to pay city taxes, we need them to use the city services, so that if their trash isn’t getting picked up, they’re experiencing it, you know, too, drive the city roads, be here during nights and weekends.”
Youngblood said her proposal would have maintained the integrity of the original ordinance while providing flexibility for the current market. That motion failed in a 5-2 vote, with only Youngblood and Alderman Sally Brock voting in favor.
“The market here is so different, drastically different than it was even five years ago, 10 years ago,” Brock said. “And I do think that that is something that we probably would need to consider.”
Chastain said the board should scrap the city-only requirement and instead implement a 90-day time limit for a new administrator to move anywhere within Warren County. Chastain said other department heads within the city are already allowed to live in the county while performing their duties effectively.
“I kind of, I mean, I think I agree with you that I don’t think the administrator is any different,” Alderman Steve Harvey said. “I mean, it’s different but not enough different from the department heads. I mean, it’s not a requirement for them that they live in the city, and I think if you live in Warren County, I mean, I’m okay with that permanently.”
The board ultimately approved Chastain’s motion to set the requirement as residency within Warren County within 90 days of appointment. The measure passed 6-1, with Youngblood casting the lone dissenting vote.
Because the board changed the language of the ordinance during the meeting, the city attorney said the item must return for another reading. Chastain said the board will hold a second reading of the amended ordinance at its next scheduled meeting.
