Long Beach City Council eases residency requirement for city manager

The Long Beach City Council 5-0 voted Tuesday to allow its city manager to have greater flexibility with residency.

The enacted resolution, introduced March 21, allows the city manager to live within 15 miles of Long Beach or anywhere in Nassau County. The city charter previously required managers to live in Long Beach within 90 days of their appointment. The change comes after previous manager Donna Gayden abruptly left her post in January, prompting the city to embark on a search for a new manager. 

Police Commissioner Ronald Walsh, who, records show, lives in Freeport, is serving as interim city manager. Until a permanent manager is chosen, Walsh will be tasked with guiding the city and its finances, following in the footsteps of the four other city managers Long Beach officials have appointed since 2017.

A handful of residents spoke in favor of maintaining strict residency requirements Tuesday night. Nassau County Legis. Denise Ford (D-Long Beach) said living in the city would “show a commitment to doing the best they can by becoming a resident.” 

Resident Jim Kirkland likened the residency requirement for city managers as “having skin in the game.” 

But city council president John Bendo said the residency requirement could rob the city of potential applicants who don’t want to uproot their lives if they already live on Long Island. He added that not all city leaders, like the comptroller, live in Long Beach. Officials in 2018 said the residency requirement posed a challenge in finding candidates. 

“One of the lessons we learned a few years ago when I was first on the council when we were going to do a search was the requirement that the city manager live within the City of Long Beach created some problems for some potential applicants,” he said. “They couldn’t apply for the job unless they were basically willing to sell their home and move to Long Beach.” 

Bendo said the city was working with consultant Pracademic Partners to develop a candidate profile. The March 7 resolution shows the Livonia-based consultant specializes in executive searches for public-sector organizations.

With Caroline Curtin and Judy Weinberg

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.