(a) All personnel hereafter employed by the City whether hourly or salaried, and whether appointed pursuant to the Police and Fire civil service provisions of State of West Virginia Law must be bona-fide residents, living within a forty-five (45) mile geographic distance from the City of Wheeling Central Offices located at 1500 Chapline St., Wheeling, WV. This residency requirement is applicable for all such employees except at the time of appointment or employment when they need not be residents within such geographic area, but shall establish such residency within six months of employment.
This residency requirement does not apply to employees appointed or in the classified services of such departments that are not employed as members of the department under the provisions of the Police or Fire Civil Service provisions or Police and Fire Retirement Systems.
(b) All officers and employees of the City hereafter to be employed by the City are hereby required as a condition of their continued employment to have their place of abode within such geographic area noted in Section (a) above and to be bona-fide residents therein, except as otherwise provided in this section. A "bona-fide resident", for the purpose of this section, means a person having a permanent domicile within the designated geographic area and one which has not been adopted with the intention of again taking up or claiming a previous residence acquired outside of the designated geographic area. A domiciled resident is a person who maintains a true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment, not for mere special or temporary purposes. A person may have more than one home or place where they reside from time to time, but they will only have one "domiciled residence." The use of a post office, part-time homes, apartments or property owned, leased or rented by persons from another state, county or city, or nonpersonal residence for mailing purposes shall not be considered a bona-fide residence.
(c) All officers, appointees and members of the Police and Fire Departments employed prior to June 6, 2017 in the City service not residing within the designated geographic area, as noted in Section (a) above, shall, if they change their permanent domicile, establish and maintain such permanent domicile within such designated geographic area at all times thereafter during their continued service with the City of Wheeling, WV.
(d) Failure of any officer, appointee and member of the Police and Fire Departments of the City to comply with the provisions of this section shall be cause for that employee's removal or discharge from the City service.
(Ord. 14949. Passed 6-6-17.)