Residency Rules

On July 26, 2016 the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee adopted legislation that imposes a residency requirement on law enforcement, fire, and designated emergency personnel to reside within 15 miles of the jurisdictional boundaries of the City. This charter ordinance, adopted pursuant to Wis. Stat. Sec. 66.0502 (4)(b), applies to all sworn members of the departments and provides that the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) designate “emergency personnel.” This legislation will become effective October 11, 2016.

The FPC recently updated its rules to be in compliance with the charter ordinance. The following positions have been designated as emergency personnel:  Police Information Systems Director, Emergency Communications Manager, Communications Systems Manager, and Police Facilities Manager; and Fire Technical Services Manager, Fire Dispatch Manager, Fire Equipment Repairs Manager, and Fire Equipment Repairs Supervisor. The positions of Police Aide and Fire Cadet are also designated as emergency personnel.

All employees hired into a position subject to this residency requirement, any incumbent sworn employee, or any civilian who at any time has his/her position designated as subject to this residency requirement, shall be granted a period of time not to exceed six months from the date of hire or the date upon which the designation becomes effective to become compliant with the requirement. Consistent with Sections 5.02-5 and 5.02-6 of the Charter, eligible employees may pursue extensions and hardship exceptions with the FPC.

Residency Map

The red line on the map below indicates a distance of 15 miles from the jurisdictional boundary of the City of Milwaukee. 

Directions for use

The map can be toggled between satellite imagery or illustrated and labeled streets by clicking the box in the lower left corner.  Users can zoom in and out of the map by clicking the + and – buttons in the upper left corner.  Clicking the house icon in the upper left corner will reset the map zoom to the default.  Addresses may be located by typing them into the white box in the upper right corner of the map and subsequently clicking the icon in the upper right corner or pressing enter.   

Important notes

Mapping the location of mailing addresses is performed using a process known as Geocoding.  Geocoding will not always be successful in determining the location of all mailing addresses; and even when successful it may have error in the calculated location.  Because of this please do not rely solely on the location that the map automatically determines.  It is important to use the zoom in/out feature of the map in order to magnify the region of interest.  Users can then use the satellite imagery to visually locate known features of the actual property they are investigating in order to determine the true location and compliance of the property. 

This map is an illustrative tool and as such is meant to provide general guidance to department members and applicants, not final legal determination of compliance.  Members whose property intersects the edge of this region should consult with the Fire and Police Commission for final determination of the property’s compliance to the residency requirement. 

If you have questions or concerns please contact the Fire and Police Commission Research & Policy Analyst Dave Gelting at dgeltin@milwaukee.gov.