The board of aldermen Monday night unanimously registered its required second vote of approval to attach a “waiver” amendment to the city’s residency law for city employees.

The amendment allows the mayor to hire a qualified non-resident to a city position if it is deemed to be “in the best interests of the public”, but he will need the approval of the city council to hire an “outsider”.

The common council voted 14-1 in favor of the waiver option last week.

During initial discussions on the issue, it was pointed out that sometimes a position calls for a certain skill, experience or license/certificate that no Everett applicant has.

In such a case, the mayor – with the approval of the city council – can now hire the best qualified non-resident.

While the board of aldermen and the mayor agreed on the need for such a waiver option, at least one alderman was miffed that the mayor apparently played “beat the clock” on the issue.

At Monday night’s board meeting, Ald. Robert Van Campen – a key supporter of the waiver proposal – expressed disappointment with the fact that the mayor just recently made a couple of non-resident hirings, even though the mayor had to be aware that the waiver process would be going into effect this Sunday, July 1.