Richmond HR director briefs commissioners on state-required trainings and NEOGOV process

Chiron Taylor, Richmond's Human Resources Director, briefed the Planning Commission about state-mandated trainings and the city's processes for implementation and compliance.

Taylor outlined mandatory topics that apply to officials and certain appointees: ethics training under AB1234 to help officials recognize conflicts of interest; Brown Act/open meeting law topics for transparency and public access; a fiscal and financial training requirement (cited as a Senate bill that took effect Jan. 1, 2026) covering budgeting and financial reporting; and anti-harassment training under AB1661. Taylor described active-shooter and workplace-violence trainings as required or offered in coordination with public safety partners and said staff is maintaining a workplace violence prevention plan for the city.

Taylor explained delivery methods (in-person, webinars, and online modules through the NEOGOV learning management system), recordkeeping, and the ability for commissioners to submit prior employer certificates for credit. "If you have completed the training, we will document that and we won't come back around until you're due in about two years," Taylor said. She added that most mandated modules should be completed within about 30 days of receiving the NEOGOV link; highly recommended trainings will be offered quarterly.

Commissioners asked whether NEOGOV covers all trainings and how long they have to complete modules. Taylor said NEOGOV hosts most mandated modules but some trainings (active shooter, workplace violence) are delivered by the police department or as live sessions; mandated modules typically should be finished within about 30 days of receiving the link and staff will follow up by email. Taylor provided a contact for questions and said Jasmine Ponder, the city's training manager, was available via Zoom.

No formal action was required; staff will follow up with emails and links to the learning management system and will document completion when commissioners submit certificates from other employers.