The “Residency Requirement” for Coatesville City Manager is meaningless

The so called “Residency Requirement” for a city manager for the City of Coatesville can be overridden at any time for any reason by the Coatesville City Council. 

So please, no more calls for the Coatesville City Manager to live in Coatesville. 

§ 2-402. Qualifications of Manager. 

The Manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of executive and administrative training or experience with respect to the duties of the office set forth in the Charter. The Manager need not be a resident of the city nor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the time of appointment but as soon as possible thereafter and within one year shall become and during tenure shall remain a resident of the city unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Council.

http://ecode360.com/12118804

A prospective applicant for the position of city manager for the City of Coatesville can promise to move to or live inside of Coatesville. But anyone with 1/2 a brain who applies for the job will understand that he or she is under no legal commitment to hold to that promise. Which I believe is exactly what former Coatesville City Manager Rawlings knew when he came to Coatesville.

Understand that Rawling's promise to live inside of Coatesville was for some reason important to the city council of that time. But I think they ignored what Rawlings did when he worked at other communities.

City Council's incomplete look into Rawling's former employment finally caught up to them:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2012

Who stole the people's money?