District attorney seeks county residency waiver for his office

Apr. 16—LOCKPORT — A proposed local law waiving the county residency requirement for assistant district attorneys will come before the Niagara County Legislature next week.

Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman said he was prompted to seek the waiver because, as of late March, his office has six vacancies, equivalent to 25% of the attorneys on staff.

Seaman said the DA's office has been understaffed for the past three years, and when he has posted openings the past couple of years, attorneys who respond are mostly Erie County residents.

"I want to attract candidates," he said.

Seaman said he understands why meeting the county residency requirement is difficult for many attorneys: They have children enrolled in school, or their spouse is meeting a local residency requirement; housing, especially rental housing, is difficult to secure.

The county residency requirement poses "a very serious challenge" for the DA's office, Seaman told the legislature's Community Safety & Security committee this week. The committee voted to recommend a waiver for the DA's office.

Niagara County has imposed a residency requirement on employees since 1980, according to Peter Lopes, director of human resources. The language of the original resolution has been "tweaked" from time to time, to allow some employees to reside outside the county, particularly during a "hiring crunch," but mostly it stands.

"The vast majority of county employees work and live in Niagara County, no different from other employers who want to hire from within their community," Lopes said.

In the case of assistant district attorneys, who are considered public officials in New York State law, waiving the residency rule requires a local law. The legislature will decide, at its Tuesday business meeting, whether to schedule a public hearing on the proposed law.