Easing residency requirement was small price to pay, they contend
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
City of Burlington officials said they have heard few complaints about their recent efforts to retain Police Chief Peter Nimmer, but several people have contacted the Standard Press questioning whether the effort was fair to other public employees and taxpayers.
As far as Mayor Bob Miller and City Administrator Kevin Lahner are concerned, Nimmer brings top-notch leadership at a relative bargain.
“From my perspective, if we’re able to have a guy who finished at the top of two nationwide searches, it makes perfect sense to try to keep him,” Lahner said Tuesday.
The major contract change that convinced Nimmer to stay in Burlington – rather than pursue a job for which he was a finalist in Whitefish Bay – was a decision by officials to eliminate the residency requirement for the chief.
“Residency requirement is something I questioned a while ago,” Miller said Tuesday. “When it came up with the chief’s contract, we looked at it again.”
Among other benefits, the Whitefish Bay job would have landed Nimmer much closer to home and his wife’s place of employment.
The city chose to rework Nimmer’s contract and eliminate the residency requirement, though Nimmer will be required to live in Racine, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth or Kenosha counties when he sells his current home in Washington County.
Comments made to the Standard Press indicated some dissent in terms of the contract, saying that Nimmer, in essence, threatened to leave and got his contract changed to his benefit.
However, Miller said Tuesday that the residency requirement is gone for every city employee with the exception of City Administrator Kevin Lahner.
Others in the City of Burlington Police Department are required to live in a 20-mile radius.
“It was just an old rule that needed to be re-examined and looked at again,” said Miller, who added that residency requirements in the state of Wisconsin seem to be falling “hand over fist.”
Nimmer’s current base salary is $87,006, and he is now also reimbursing the city for mileage to and from Burlington, essentially for wear and tear on the city-issued vehicle.
Lahner said Nimmer is a member of the city administration negotiates his contract individually. The situation cannot be compared to those of other public employees – namely law enforcement officers – who retain the right to collectively bargain their contract, he contends.
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We pay the top dog at the police department nearly 90K and yet he still has no vested interest in this city?? I wonder if he laughs every day he drives home in that nice 40K car the city tax payers pay for. The guy obviously has no interest in living here let alone staying chief. Does he take prisoners in his car? Does he respond from home if needed? Isn’t Washington County about 60 some miles away?? Is that car used for personal use?? Pretty lavish if you ask me. If he lived any further, we may have to fly him in every day.
Wow sad I personally think if public officials do not want to live there then they need to go . Can we vote on this or is this yet another thing our current mayor does outta personal issues. I have noticed this a lot with him. Personal issue is making the mayors decisions over the people in the city.
Get a clue Mayor the man applied at another department! He is looking elsewhere. Reimbursing for wear and tear on the vehicle, are you kidding me? Get real. Residency is a mute point. Do you really think the citizens of Burlington are that blind ?!
Hey, Tax Payer – don’t suppose you’ve happened to notice that Nimmer has been in town for many special events, including Saturday’s Spooky City?