Every person first employed by the City of Boston on or after July 1, 1976, shall be a resident of the City of Boston, and shall not cease to be a resident of the City of Boston during his employment by the City. For the purposes of this ordinance, an employee shall be any person receiving monies from the City subject to withholding taxes by the State or Federal Government, except principal employees and officers subject to the provisions of subsection 5-5.2 hereof All persons promoted by the City on or after July 1, 1976, shall be, or within one year of such promotion become, a resident of the City as defined herein. Failure to do so shall be determined to be a voluntary termination of employment.

   The provisions of this section shall not apply to any current sworn member of the command staff of the Boston Police Department or senior management appointee in the Boston Fire Department who immediately prior to such appointment was a member of a collective bargaining unit and who, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, previously lived in the City for ten consecutive years during such employment but at the time of his appointment no longer resided in the City. Any sworn member of the command staff of the Boston Police Department appointed after January 1, 2016 shall be, or within the six (6) months next following the date of his acceptance of such appointment shall become, both a resident and registered voter of the City of Boston and each such officer shall continue to be both a resident and a registered voter of the City of Boston during his term of office.

   The Mayor, or his or her designee, may grant, by petition subject to ratification by the Residency Compliance Commission, a waiver of the residency requirement herein if the position to be filled requires a unique set of skills, which, without lifting the residency requirement, would render the position difficult to fill within a reasonable time. The petition to waive the residency requirement must be presented to the Residency Compliance Commission for ratification by a majority of its Commissioners. Such waiver may, at the discretion of the Mayor or his or her designee, be granted for the duration of the employment or for such other limited duration, not to exceed thirty-six (36) months, after which the employee shall become a resident of the City of Boston and shall not cease to be a resident of the City of Boston.

   Upon taking employment with the City, and annually on March first thereafter, every person subject to this section shall file with his or her Department head, or like officer, a certificate, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, stating his or her name, and place of residence, and accompany such certification with two proofs of residency. A copy of every such certificate shall be transmitted by the Department head or like officer to the Office of Human Resources and the Boston Residency Compliance Commission within five (5) business days of filing. Upon receipt of a certificate indicating a place or residence not within the City of Boston, or if no such certificate is filed, the Department head or like officer shall forthwith strike the name of the employee from the payroll, that person shall cease to be employed by the City, and the Department head or like officer shall give notice of his action to the City Clerk, who shall transmit the same to the City Council, the Mayor, the Office of Human Resources and the Collector-Treasurer. A person who falsely certifies as to his residency shall be fined the sum of $300.00 for each such false certification filed. No person so stricken from a payroll shall be reemployed by the City for a period of five (5) years following the cessation of his or her employment. Every employee shall be furnished a copy of the residency ordinance when hired and annually thereafter, but failure to receive a copy shall not be held to excuse any violation.

   The City's Office of Human Resources shall prepare a report on compliance with the residency requirements herein and submit such report annually to the City Clerk and the City Council.

   Any person, acting on behalf of the City who makes payment of wages to any person stricken from a payroll under the provisions hereof, within one year of the date of striking, and any person accepting such payment, shall be punished by a fine of two ($2.00) dollars for each dollar so paid or accepted.

   To the extent permissible by law, no collective bargaining agreement hereafter entered into by the City of Boston shall contain any provision contrary to the provisions hereof, nor shall the absence of any provision with respect to the residency of any person hired after the date of such contract be deemed to prevent enforcement of this section.

   To the extent permitted by Chapter 31 of the General Laws, every examination held to establish a Civil Service list for employment by the City of Boston shall be restricted to City of Boston residents.

   In the event that this section shall be deemed to be in conflict with a provision of any general or special law, the provision of that general or special law shall govern, and shall not defeat the application of this ordinance with respect to any position not governed by that law.

   The provisions hereof are severable, and the action of any court of competent jurisdiction in declaring any part or portion hereof invalid, shall not act to defeat any remaining part or portion hereof, and any such action declaring this section invalid with respect to any position or person shall not be held to apply to any other person or position.

   In construing this ordinance, residence shall be the actual principal residence of the individual, where he or she normally eats and sleeps and maintains his or her normal personal and household effects. This ordinance shall be deemed to affect both Civil Service and non-Civil Service employees of the City.

(Ord. 1976 c. 9; Ord. 1994 c. 10 §§ 1-4; Ord. 1995 c. 7 § 1; Ord. 2016 c. 2 § 2)