Resident evil

Nine years ago, when Marion’s city treasurer unwittingly was trotted out as poster child for eliminating residency requirements for city officers, Keith Collett, then city attorney, offered this assessment:

“The best people will want to move to this community anyway.”

Nine years later, that hasn’t happened.

That’s understandable in the case of the treasurer, whose individual situation easily could be addressed with a simple change in title.

But the rule also applies to other positions, like city administrator, the last two of which have been non-residents even though they clearly impact the lives of people who live within the city.

Marion’s new attempt to reinstate its accidentally waived elimination of state-imposed residency requirements is subject to a vote of residents if someone passes a petition requesting it.

Whether the city will make a point of mentioning this is yet to be determined.

— ERIC MEYER