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