Every week, 7,265 employees of the City of Cleveland leave their homes to attempt, in their own individual way, to make the city a better place to live.
Cities chosen otherwise were, as expected, inner-ring suburbs with a close commute and generally affordable real estate markets: Euclid , Parma , Garfield Heights , Lakewood , Cleveland Heights and North Ridgeville . Other than obvious elements of city pride, having thousands of city employees splitting payroll taxes between Cleveland and other cities puts an obvious dent in the city's general fund, which relies heavily on income tax. More residents equal more dollars to spend.
The backstory of the sprawling residencies of Cleveland's employees is rooted in legal history going back to 1982, when voters approved a law requiring city employees to live in Cleveland. That was the status quo for three decades, until May of 2006, when the Ohio Supreme Court found that forcing workers to live within city boundaries was unconstitutional.