New Orleans To Require Residency For New Police, Firefighters

On Mar 11, 2013 09:43 am

The ordinance is broad and allows any city employee living outside of Orleans Parish before Jan. 1 to be grandfathered in the ordinance and can remain living outside the parish.

Any new employee who is hired will be required to live within New Orleans, but will have a grace period of 180 days to move into the city.

The Police Association of New Orleans and the Fraternal Order of Police met with New Orleans City Council members on Monday to go over the requirements for officers.

Before Hurricane Katrina, all officers on the force had to live within the city limits.

The requirement was billed as a way to ensure that cops were living in the area they were protecting.

However, after the storm in 2005, the City Council temporarily lifted the residency requirement, but at the end of 2012 that expired.