(a) Except as in this Charter otherwise provided or except as otherwise provided by a majority vote of the Council of the City of East Cleveland, every regular officer or employee of the City of East Cleveland, including members of all city boards and commissions established by the Charter or ordinances of East Cleveland, whether in the classified or unclassified service of the City of East Cleveland, appointed after the effective date of this amendment, shall, at the time of his appointment, or within six months thereafter, be or become a bona fide resident of the City of East Cleveland, and shall remain as such during his term of office or while employed by the City of East Cleveland.
(b) No person shall, in any way, falsify or misstate verbally or in writing any application, paper, document or form, which relates to his employment with the city, that he is a resident of the City of East Cleveland, when in fact he is not a bona fide resident of the City of East Cleveland. Any officer or employee of the City of East Cleveland who is found to have supplied or furnished such false or misleading information concerning his true residence or who fails to become a resident as herein required, or who, being a resident or having become a resident outside of the city, subsequently establishes a residence outside of the city, shall, after notice and hearing, according to law, be discharged from service with the city.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any officer or employee on the payroll of the City of East Cleveland on the effective date of this section.
(d) If in the event an employee did not move within the stated time, and the Mayor decides to exempt the employee, the Mayor shall provide the reasons for exemption to Council for approval. It shall be the responsibility of Council to either approve or disapprove any request for exemption. In the event that the Council determines to deny the exemption, the employee shall be discharged from service with the city, after notice and hearing, according to law.
(Added 11-5-96.)
(Editor’s note: The Ohio Supreme Court in City of Lima v. State of Ohio (2009), 122 Ohio St. 3d 155, held that a state statute prohibiting political subdivisions from requiring employees to live within the limits of the municipality overrides local legislation imposing such requirements.)