Municipal Jobs - Residency Requirement? (Charlotte, Raleigh: health insurance, chapel, pros and cons)

[thumbelina]

Does anyone know whether the various cities/counties in the triangle area have residency requirements for their employees? Thanks

[RaleighRob]

I seriously doubt it. I'm willing to bet over 80% of the people who work for the town of Cary or the city of Chapel Hill, for examples, cannot afford to live in those places. Here in Raleigh, when the garbage collectors went on strike, the news talked about how many of them drive from trailer parks out in remote rural areas into the city everyday for work.

There's probably a few jobs that require you to be within a short distance to get to work fast in the case of an emergency, but that's probably it.

[thumbelina]

Thanks RR. I've looked on the various hiring pages and haven't found any info, and maybe that's the reason, because there are no such requirements!

I do know of municipalities elsewhere that do require residency, and they run into the same problems you state - the average worker (which also includes fairly high level professional positions) can't afford to live there

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by thumbelina

Thanks RR. I've looked on the various hiring pages and haven't found any info, and maybe that's the reason, because there are no such requirements!

I do know of municipalities elsewhere that do require residency, and they run into the same problems you state - the average worker (which also includes fairly high level professional positions) can't afford to live there

Some munis like Miami-Dade County in Florida have a residency requirement but I don't know of any muni in NC that has one. If they do it would most likely be limited to you living within the county. The pay in NC for gov positions is way lower than states like AZ. But I've found that to be true through out the south. Dallas and Houston are two examples. They want 5 years of experience for a financial analyst position but they only want to pay 40k. 5 years is worth anywhere from 55 to 65k, if you're paying market rate. 75k if you're in Cali. Charlotte is the only city in the state that is progressive in it's efforts to recruit talent to government.

[thumbelina]

That's unfortunate that the pay scale is relatively low. Does that refer to the state govt too?

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by thumbelina

That's unfortunate that the pay scale is relatively low. Does that refer to the state govt too?

In my experience, state govs tend to pay about 10k less on average than the munis in about 95% of the cases. I would exclude the state of Cali from that as they tend to pay about 10k more than the munis in that state. The State of North Carolina seems to be right in line with the City of Raleigh and about 3k behind Wake County for similar positions. I tend to prefer munis if possible b/c of the pay and flexibility, but I have worked at the state level twice in two different states in exempt positions. From what I've seen from the muni postings in the Raleigh metroplex, Wake County seems to be the better payer, if one can call it that. Raleigh would come in second and the City of Durham and Durham County would be 3rd. None of them put you close to market value for their respective positions unless we're talking about management positions. The City of Charlotte is a better alternative for quality pay, but Mecklengburg County isn't anywhere close to that.

[thumbelina]

Thanks HSH! Helpful response, I appreciated it.

[RaleighRob]

Yeah, low pay is rampant in state government jobs. It's a fact of life....however one plus is the job security....as well as once you get your foot in the door, opportunities for advancement come relatively easy if you're good at what you do.

And the biggest plus for state govt jobs is in the long term. If you start young, and stick with it till retirement, the pension will make it worthwhile. It's amazing how many companies these days now have no pension at all and you have to rely on 401k....in state government, you actually get both.
It's also a decent career path for healthy people who have no kids....your own personal health insurance coverage is free (although the deductable is high). But if you have a kid or a dependent spouse, then it's not a good deal.

So there are pros and cons obviously...and more to consider than just pay.

[thumbelina]

All very true RR.

Or else, instead of sticking it out thru retirement, resigning and working as a CONSULTANT, getting paid by the govt triple your old salary to do the same work you were doing in your cubicle, but in your pyjamas

[he's so hott]

Originally Posted by thumbelina

All very true RR.

Or else, instead of sticking it out thru retirement, resigning and working as a CONSULTANT, getting paid by the govt triple your old salary to do the same work you were doing in your cubicle, but in your pyjamas

You're so right. I know people who actually have done that recently.