Report finds 20% of city workers live outside Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new report shows 20% of Milwaukee city employees do not live in  Milwaukee. 

Now, some city leaders say getting rid of the residency requirement in 2013 has led to negative impacts for Milwaukee and its residents. 

According to the SB Friedman report shared by the legislative reference bureau, 30% of Milwaukee's police and firefighters do not live in the city. 

In 2013, the state legislature changed the city's 75-year-old residency requirement. The change meant that city workers no longer had to live within city limits and could live in the suburbs. 

That decision was enforced by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2016. Since then, more than 1,300 city employees have moved out of the city. 

Mayor Tom Barrett says this means those people getting paid by the city aren't invested in making Milwaukee a better place to live. 

"The people that were helping us pay the salary for the police officers and the firefighters, those people who are getting those very good salaries are not paying them and that's not fair to the people who live in Milwaukee," said Mayor Barrett. 

In a statement, Governor Walker said the residency restriction isn't fair because people should be free to choose where they live. 

The Mayor says he would love to see the policy changed but he knows state leadership doesn't feel the same way.