The City of Richmond has launched a digital workshop for community engagement accessible on the Department of Economic Development’s Resort Casino webpage. To coincide with the digital workshop, the city will also be having two virtual community meetings – today, March 9 at 6:00pm and tomorrow, March 10 at 12:00pm.

Digital Workshop

The digital workshop is a set of three interactive documents that highlight benefits, negative impact mitigation, and revenue associated with a Resort Casino. Community members are encouraged to leave their comments, suggestions, and concerns where prompted on each document.

The documents are accessible on the Resort Casino webpage.  Links to each document are also available under “Digital Engagement”.

Virtual Community Meetings

Held via MS Teams, community members will learn about 1) the community engagement process and 2) the community benefits a resort casino may provide, how to mitigate potential negative impacts from a resort casino, and how communities have used resort casino revenue.

Links and call-in information for both virtual meetings can be found below:

Tuesday, March 9 - 6 P.M. - Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only) 
+1 804-316-9457  
Phone Conference ID: 890 465 30# 

Wednesday, March 10 - 12 P.M. - Click here to join the meeting 

Or call in (audio only) 
+1 804-316-9457  
Phone Conference ID: 837 455 515# 

For more information about Resort Casino community Engagement opportunities, visit: www.rva.gov/economic-development/resort-casino

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Today, Mayor Levar M. Stoney and administration leadership presented the proposed FY22 budget to Richmond City Council. Despite municipal revenues projected to be nearly $18.5 million less than revenues in last year’s FY21 proposed budget (when excluding one-time funding sources from both fiscal years), the $770.3 million proposal is balanced, with expenses in line with current revenue projections.
 
“The difficult decisions we had to make reflect the extraordinarily challenging economic times we’re in, and while this budget is limited in its ability to provide for new programming, it does protect the work we’ve started to make our city more equitable,” said Mayor Stoney. “Facing the need to do more with significantly less challenged us to look even more closely at how we can allocate the resources we have to produce better results for Richmonders.”
 
With proposed utility rate increases, the average customer will see a $5.27 increase in their monthly utility bill. This increase in utility rates will fund more than $3 million in infrastructure improvements to address flooding in key areas, particularly Southside.
 
However, the budget as proposed contains no increases in real estate, personal property or other general taxes.
 
The proposed Operating Budget and FY22-26 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) include the following key investments (the list is not exhaustive):
 
Transit, Mobility and Transportation

• $8 million to the Greater Richmond Transit Company;
• $33.5 million in investments in sidewalk maintenance and construction, paving, new bike lanes and bridge maintenance, and other transportation related improvements in addition to an anticipated $16.7 million from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority;
• $2.5 million specifically for new sidewalk construction (up from $900,000 in FY21) as well as an increase in the number of sidewalk crews in the Department of Public Works;

 
Housing Affordability and Security

• $2.9 million to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (level-funding from last year);
• $485,000 to the Eviction Diversion Program (level-funding from last year);

 
Equity and Community Safety

• $1.1 million in operational funding to the Department of Emergency Communications to establish the Marcus Alert (as supported by community advocates and members of the Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety);
• $28 million for the Enslaved African Heritage Campus in the FY22-26 CIP;
• Funding for a Community Safety Coordinator, the city’s point person for implementing a gun-violence prevention framework, coordinating services for Richmonders experiencing homelessness and working with residents to address other community safety concerns;
• Creation of the Office of Engagement under the Department of Citizen Service and Response;
• Creation of the Office of Equity and Inclusion under the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services;

 
Children and Families

• $187 million to Richmond Public Schools, fully funding the school system’s operational funding request (constitutes a $6.4 million increase when excluding RPS’ use of one-time funding in FY21);
• $200 million for school modernization in FY24, including funding for a new George Wythe High School;

 
Good Governance

• Full funding, in the FY22-26 CIP, to complete the renovation and expansion of the Southside Community Services Center;
• A two-step salary increase for sworn police officers and firefighters;
• An hourly wage increase for city employees making $12.07/hour to $13/hour; and
• Nearly $6 million in the general fund to implement the recommendations of the Gallagher Class and Compensation Study, which found that many city employees make significantly less than their mid-range salaries compared to market rates.

 
In favor of implementing the recommendations of the Gallagher Class and Compensation Study, Mayor Stoney appealed to service quality and consistency: “The fact is, we will not achieve service improvement goals if we do not stabilize the attrition rate in the city workforce or if we cannot competitively recruit.”
 
He also shared that the creation of a pandemic-era budget resulted in the adoption of multiple municipal best practices, including increasing the transparency and accountability of the budgeting process. In the budget document, the Richmond City Council will be able to view a list of frozen and funded positions per department, tying the funded positions to specific city needs and functions. In order to balance the budget, the administration has decided to freeze an additional 150 positions, compared to last year’s budget.
 
The Mayor closed on a positive note, stating, “Whether times are lean or prosperous, I want you to know that I will continue to be bold and embrace the challenges before us.”
 
“We will take the actions required to remove barriers to opportunity and ensure our city can recover the right way.”
 
Interested parties will be able to learn more about the budget, read the mayor’s remarks and watch the presentation here.

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FY22-26 Capital Improvement Plan proposes significant investments in Enslaved African Heritage Campus, school modernization, vital city infrastructure
 

At the March 4 meeting of the Richmond Planning Commission, the administration presented Mayor Stoney’s FY2022-2026 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which proposes significant investments in key priority areas like modern schools, safe city infrastructure and the appropriate commemoration of historic spaces.
 

The plan proposes the following investments:

• $28 million for the Enslaved African Heritage Campus over the course of five years, which is in addition to a recent allocation of up to $8.6 million, totaling nearly $37 million in future investment;
• $200 million for school modernization in FY24, including proposed funds for a new George Wythe High School;
• $2.1 million in capital maintenance for Richmond Public Schools in FY22;
• Full funding to replace Fire Station 12 in FY22;
• $31.1 million for citywide fleet replacement over the course of five years;
• $11.2 million in capital maintenance for all City of Richmond facilities in FY22; and
• Full funding, over five years, to complete the Southside Community Center renovation and expansion, helping to improve service access and delivery during a crucial time.

 
“It has been a challenging and sobering year, but residents should be excited about this plan,” said Mayor Stoney. “They reflect our priorities: our families, our services and our shared history. Whether we’re building the Enslaved African Heritage Campus or sending students back to schools they can be proud of, it all starts with these investments.”
 
The Capital Improvement Plan is a five-year plan that proposes the construction, maintenance and renovation of capital projects, or physical projects. The CIP does not include operational funding, which will be represented in the FY22 Operational Budget. Mayor Stoney and the budget team will present the details of the FY22 Operational Budget on Friday, March 5 at 3 p.m. in a presentation to Richmond City Council.
 
To read the FY22-26 CIP, click here.

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At his weekly briefing today, Mayor Stoney introduced the city’s draft Equity Agenda, a foundational document that will serve as the roadmap toward a more inclusive and thriving Richmond.
 
The Equity Agenda offers the city’s definition of equity: the empowerment of communities that have experienced past injustices by removing barriers to access and opportunity. It also acknowledges the harms perpetrated against people of color and other persecuted groups by city government in years past.
 
“Unity cannot come without healing, and healing cannot come without action,” said Mayor Stoney. “This document acknowledges the immense pain the city has caused people of color throughout the course of Richmond’s history, but it also lays the groundwork for the action needed to truly recover from that trauma.”
 
The agenda is comprised of ten broad goals, policy buckets that contain more detailed plans for the city’s future:

1. Addressing and Preventing Health Disparities
2. Housing as a Vaccine for Poverty
3. Ensuring Equitable Transit and Mobility for Residents
4. Building Community Wealth to Combat Inequity
5. Supporting and Caring for our Children and Families
6. Creating Equitable Climate Action and Resilience
7. Reimagining Public Safety
8. Telling the Real History of Richmond
9. Strengthening Community Engagement and Trust
10. Utilizing Economic Development to Create Economic Justice

 
Residents can visit www.rva.gov/rvaequity to learn about recent city initiatives to advance equity and objectives for the future.
 
Mayor Stoney also invited residents to offer feedback on the draft Equity Agenda.
 
“Before we introduce this as a resolution before Richmond City Council, I want to ensure it reflect the city’s vision – that includes yours,” said the mayor.
 
Through March 21, City of Richmond residents can directly comment on the document at www.rva.gov/rvaequity. The Office of Community Wealth Building Community Ambassadors will safely solicit in person feedback through their Community Connectors program.
 
City staff will collate and analyze all comments and questions, draw on common themes, and incorporate the feedback. Not every comment will be reflected word for word in the final Equity Agenda.
 
After the close of the community engagement period, the Equity Agenda will be introduced as a resolution to Richmond City Council.

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Maritza Mercado Pechin will serve as a Deputy Director within the Planning & Development Review Department and will manage the city’s new Office of Equitable Development.
 
Pechin formerly served as the project manager for the city’s master plan, Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth. In her new position and in leading the new office, she will focus on working across city departments to plan for and facilitate the creation of the more sustainable, beautiful and equitable city envisioned by Richmonders in the master plan.
 
“Richmond 300 is a roadmap for the Richmond we want to be after 300 years of tumultuous history,” said Mayor Stoney. “This office, under the leadership of a tested public servant and planning professional, will start us down that road.”
 
The office is housed under the Department of Planning and Development Review but will work laterally across the entire Planning and Economic and Community Development portfolio. This will allow office staff to coordinate and collaborate with staff citywide to realize the vision detailed in Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth.
 
Pechin will report directly to DCAO for Economic and Community Development Sharon Ebert and work closely with the Office of the CAO and Mayor.
 
“The process to create Richmond 300 was expansive and inclusive, and now, the fun of implementation begins. I am honored to join the city staff to execute the recommendations outlined in the plan so that Richmond 300 is truly a guide to creating a more equitable, sustainable, and beautiful Richmond, and not just a plan that sits on a shelf,” said Pechin. 
 
“Richmond 300 set a new bar for community engagement,” said Acting CAO Lincoln Saunders. “Establishing this office will enable the administration to work across department to build on that model, pursuing growth in an inclusive and equitable way.”
 
“I am delighted to be working with Maritza,” said DCAO Sharon Ebert. “Her expertise in planning, organizing and implementing inspired great confidence throughout the community engagement process for and writing of the Richmond 300 Plan.”

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