Will St. Louis City's Residency Requirement Survive Push For Legislative Change?

Lots of things set St. Louis apart from other Missouri municipalities, from its fixation with the high school question to bread-sliced bagels. So the fact that the city of St. Louis is one of few municipalities in the state with a residency requirement for most of its government employees is hardly its most defining. But right now, it might be the most hotly contested. After the Board of Aldermen rejected last fall Mayor Lyda Krewson’s plan to put the issue to voters — and have city residents decide whether to continue requiring city workers to live within the city limits — Krewson is now pushing for the legislature to take up her cause. House leadership seems on board. In this episode of St. Louis on the Air, host Sarah Fenske talks with longtime local journalist Ray Hartmann, who has a column in this week’s Riverfront Times on this subject. Also joining the discussion is St. Louis Public Radio reporter Rachel Lippmann.