Richmond parking enforcement officers urge reclassification, higher pay

Corinne Alejandre, a City of Richmond parking enforcement officer, told the council during public comment that parking enforcement staff are responsible for more work than their job descriptions reflect and are paid less than comparable positions in nearby jurisdictions.

"We are a revenue generating unit," Alejandre said, and she asked the city to review the officers—classification and pay.

The request was backed by other officers. Tierra Gonzales, identified as the department—second senior parking enforcement representative, said the unit has been performing duties outside its classification since at least February 2022 and is one of the lowest-paid full-time positions in the city. "We—really not getting paid even equivalent to what other parking enforcement officers in other cities get paid for the jobs that we do," Gonzales said.

Aldrine Corocieta, also a parking enforcement officer, said the group conducts outreach to people living in vehicles and homeless encampments and encounters hazardous situations, including interactions with people in mental health crisis or under the influence of drugs. Corocieta asked the council to "take a look at our job description, our classification, and our pay."

Another officer, identified in the record as Ayesha Harris, told the council that since street sweeping resumed after the COVID-19 pause the department has issued 23,295 citations totaling "over a million dollars." Harris said enforcement duties increase encounters with irate or hazardous situations and reiterated the request for pay that the officers described as more commensurate with their responsibilities.

Kevin Tisdale, a code enforcement officer and president of ICU Richmond, and Josiah Branaman, a field representative for SEIU Local 1021, spoke in support of the parking enforcement officers. Tisdale said officers face needles, feces and other hazards and urged the city to "compensate properly" for the work and to negotiate in good faith. Branaman urged the council to demand accountability from city negotiators in ongoing contract talks and to seek "a fair contract" for the workers.

The comments were delivered during the council—s public-comment period; no formal action or vote on reclassification or pay was recorded on the council docket during the meeting. Council members did not make a public commitment on next steps during the session.

Community context: speakers said parking enforcement performs outreach, vehicle removal and street sweeping enforcement in addition to citation processing. Officers asked for a classification review and for wages to align with similar positions elsewhere; they said at least some management supports reevaluation. Union representatives said contract negotiations had produced limited responses from city negotiators on wage proposals.

The city manager—s office or the human resources department can be contacted for the formal status of any classification review or bargaining process.