No More Residency

In Philadelphia that is:

• An arbitration panel has awarded Philadelphia Police a new five year contract that would begin to lift residency requirements of officers in the force.
  
  As neither police nor firefighters can strike under state law, a three member panel made up of one appointed by the union, one appointed by the city and an agreed upon third-party, decided the details of the contract.
  
  The panel did not give officers a raise in the first year, but offers police will offer three percent raises in years two and three. Wage increases in the fourth and fifth years will be determined in a reopening of the process.
  
  Under the new residency guidelines, by 2012 officers with five years of experience will be permitted to move out of the city.

This was an arbitration panel. Under Illinois law, cities with a population of over one-million don't have to make residency an issue of collective bargaining. As written, the law only applies to Chicago. But as we've heard, everywhere the local FOP has sued over residency, they've won it. It's a slam dunk case. Listen to their mayor:

• "And so I'm not pleased about this change, but frankly in only two of the 20 largest cities across the country, Chicago and Milwaukee, are police officers required to live in the cities they patrol," said Mayor Nutter.

There it is.