Ranger Training Cost Reimbursement OKd

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to require park rangers to reimburse the city for training costs if they leave their jobs within five years.

“This is a very straightforward issue,” said Councilman Mike Feuer, who proposed the ordinance in May.

“It’s a question of them taking unfair advantage of their taxpayer-financed training,” Feuer said, alluding to rangers who have left their jobs soon after completing a five-month training program at Rio Hondo College.

Feuer said the ordinance was modeled after a similar law passed by the council last year aimed at graduates of the Police Academy.

Three of the last 14 rangers hired by the city left before serving a year to take jobs in other law enforcement agencies, Feuer said. The city spends $16,200 to train rangers, who work for the Department of Recreation and Parks.

The ordinance, which was approved by a 12-0 vote, requires applicants to sign an agreement stating that they intend to stay with the city for at least 60 consecutive months. Rangers who leave before five years will be required to reimburse the city on a prorated basis, depending on how long they stayed in their jobs.

“I’m absolutely in favor of this [ordinance],” said Hector Hernandez, the director of park rangers. “Once we get them through the academy and then we lose them to some other agency, that money is gone.”

The city employs about 50 rangers to patrol more than 350 parks set on 16,000 acres of city land, Hernandez said. In addition to their peace officer duties, rangers lead nature outings, maintain facilities and assist citywide shelter and welfare operations.