CAPE and DRP Agree to Training and Professional Development for Staff

Staff at the Department of Regional Planning are now on the receiving end of more training and professional development, thanks to the hard work of CAPE leadership, including Board Member Jonathan P. Bell, and CAPE Business Agent Timothy Farrell.

As an outgrowth of contract negotiations, Bell, Farrell, CAPE member Tim Stapleton, and CAPE Delegate Josh Huntington at DRP, have been regularly meeting with management via the Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) to devise ways to enhance field safety for CAPE-represented Zoning Enforcement Planners.

As a result, the JLMC has made great strides, including securing department reimbursement for field safety boots (which was codified in the most recent MOU); department-funded access to training and professional development programs; and membership for ALL Zoning Enforcement Planners to the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO) provided by the department. Paid membership to CACEO was previously reserved for only three Zoning Enforcement section heads. More improvements are expected.

“By providing additional training to support our mission, we envision safer working environments, better retention of staff in Zoning Enforcement and high job satisfaction,” Bell said.

Zoning Enforcement Planners inspect properties in a variety of geographies and climate conditions across the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. In the course of their job, these professionals encounter various hazards along the way, including aggressive animals, hostile violators, rugged terrain and inclement weather. It’s been difficult at times for Zoning Enforcement to retain planners due to these often-challenging conditions. Achieving field safety enhancements was a point of early agreement between DRP representatives on the CAPE negotiating team and management during the last contract negotiations.

These latest wins for CAPE-represented DRP planners and their colleagues are very significant. In past practice, department-funded trainings for Zoning Enforcement were mostly on an individual basis. Now, as a result of our work with the JLMC, management will fund full training days in-house through CACEO for all Zoning Enforcement staff. Topics under consideration include rights of entry, gang awareness and stress management. The trainings will be conducted at the department’s headquarters, removing the need for staff to travel to a satellite site.