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Council hears plan for non‑enforcement code‑compliance volunteer pilot; staff will consult unions and risk management
Summary
Staff proposed a 12‑month volunteer pilot for code compliance to expand outreach, remove illegal signage and assist with documentation; volunteers would be non‑enforcement, require background checks and training, and carry limited equipment.
Cathedral City staff proposed a community-engagement pilot that would add trained, non‑enforcement volunteers to assist the Code Compliance Division with outreach and limited enhancement tasks.
Dustin Gardner described the Community Engagement and Enhancement program as a 12‑month pilot modeled on Eastvale’s volunteer program. Volunteers would be at least 18, pass a background check and DMV pull-notice, and receive training in municipal-code basics, GoGov report-writing, situational awareness and verbal de‑escalation. Duties would include staffing information booths, assisting with neighborhood outreach, photographing illegal signage and conducting observation-only monitoring of vacant properties; volunteers would not wear uniforms resembling code officers and would not issue citations.
Gardner estimated modest costs for the pilot: about $50 per volunteer for identification clothing, two iPads with cellular service, volunteer-management software (about $480/year), plus roughly $3,000 in staff time for initial training and ride-alongs. He said risk management had preliminarily approved limited vehicle use and that HR would support volunteer onboarding. Councilmembers asked staff to consult the relevant unions and to clarify potential role boundaries; staff agreed to negotiate and coordinate with labor and legal staff before expanding duties.
Next steps: staff seeks council direction to proceed with a pilot and will return with implementation details and a volunteer application process developed with HR.
