Westmoreland County waiving residency requirements for government employees

GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- Around 200 government jobs are available in Westmoreland County, and now, qualified candidates don't have to live in the county to apply.

For many years, it has been a requirement that if someone wanted to work for the Westmoreland County government in one of their 1,800 jobs, they had to live within the county.

Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas says that in an ideal world, they would love to find employees who live within the county, but he says this isn't an ideal world.

"We are strapped to find employees to do the really critical functions we do in county government," said Kopas. "In order to fill those jobs, it is important we look outside the county right now. In fact, it's absolutely necessary."

By comparison, neighboring Allegheny County still has a residency requirement to work for their county government. They do offer waivers for some jobs and a relocation timeline for others.

Westmoreland County, however, is inviting qualified candidates to apply from around the region to work in everything from parks to prisons, 911 dispatch, law enforcement, and everything in between.

Kopas says these are good-paying jobs with good incentives and a nice retirement with a government pension plan.

"I am very hopeful that as we bring in more and more workers from outside of Westmoreland County, [and] they discover what a good place it is to live here in Westmoreland County," Kopas said. "I am hopeful that these employees we are bringing in will take up roots here."

To get more information on all the available jobs with the Westmoreland County government, click here .