Listener question leads to review of where city department heads live, value of homes

Residency rules no longer apply to municipal workers, but most department heads have stayed put.

La Crosse’s city hall department heads may have six-figure salaries but many live in very modest homes.

It’s part of what WIZM discovered looking at the assessments of 16 department heads, including Mayor Tim Kabat – a review sparked by a listener question about where department heads live.

Of those 16, only five live in homes assessed at more than $200,000. Three – City park and rec director Steve Carlyon, airport director Clinton Torp and city attorney Stephen Matty – live in homes assessed at more than $300,000.

The median home value in the city is about $130,000.  

We also found that only two department heads – Torp and IT director Jackie Greschner – live outside city limits.

Changes to state law four years ago no longer made residency a requirement for employment in the city. It used to be mandatory before Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed into a law, removing the requirement statewide.