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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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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Equity Agenda will center economic and social justice to help city recover “the right way”
 
Mayor sets ambitious goals for affordable housing and renewable energy; improvements to public safety, transit, public engagement
 
Watch the full speech here. Read it here.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today delivered the first “State of the City” address of his second term, sharing a message of hope for the dawn of a new era of healing and unity in the city as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and pursues social and economic justice through action.
 
The mayor discussed components of an “Equity Agenda” as part of his plan to help the city recover from the pandemic “the right way,” outlining ambitious goals to address climate change, actions to improve transit accessibility and safety, an enhanced approach to public engagement, a means to measure equitable economic development and additional steps to improve public safety and the relationship between police and the communities they serve.
 
First and foremost, the mayor committed to working with health officials to continue Richmond’s fight against the global pandemic and promote vaccination, especially in communities of color.
 
“This struggle has tested our patience, our compassion and our strength to carry on,” the mayor said. “My fellow Richmonders, the test is not over. It’s the hard truth.  Until we ensure that every Richmonder has access to the vaccine, the test will not be over… Until we get Richmonders back to work. Until we get kids back in schools. That’s what I want to see before anything else here in 2021.”
 
To that end, the mayor laid out the following goals for 2021 and beyond as part of his Equity Agenda:
 
Economic Justice:
 
The mayor said the city will promote economic justice through economic recovery and noted that upcoming redevelopment in areas like Greater Scott’s Addition, downtown and the development of a resort casino would prioritize living wage jobs and growing city revenue to fund investments in public education, affordable housing and infrastructure.
 
To increase transparency in evaluating economic development projects and promote greater equity for Black and Brown businesses and families, Mayor Stoney said the city will develop an Equitable Economic Development Scorecard that will reflect standardized expectations of all the city’s economic development projects based on community input and industry best practices. 
  
Public Engagement:
 
Building on the successful resident input models of the Richmond 300 Master Plan, the Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety, and the Community Ambassadors Program, the mayor said the city will launch an Office of Public Engagement -- a first of its kind team dedicated to designing and executing 21st century community engagement and communications strategies that enable all Richmonders, regardless of zip code, preferred language or internet access, to get involved.
 
“This office will work across all departments to ensure that the city is implementing creative engagement techniques, both virtual and in-person, communicating effectively on city programs and policies, and sharing the city’s story for others to celebrate,” Mayor Stoney said. “You want to get engaged, and I’m dedicated to building a reliable yet flexible vehicle for you to do just that.”
  
Affordable Housing:
 
In Mayor Stoney’s first term, the city exceeded its goal to build 1,500 units of affordable housing by 2023 three years early. In his speech, the mayor said the city will take on the challenge to meet the city’s growing affordable housing needs to build 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2030.
 
Last year’s Richmond City Council passage of the administration ordinance will provide a secure annual allocation to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which have tripled since 2016. By 2025, the revenue to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will be an unprecedented 10 million dollars.
  
Transportation Access and Safety:
 
Building on the work of the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility and the city’s leadership role in the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, the mayor announced three exciting developments to improve public transit safety and accessibility.
  
Thanks to a grant secured from the Department of Rail and Public Transit, later this year the city will paint the Pulse Bus Rapid Transit lanes red -- a practice many cities have used to keep riders safe from vehicular traffic and keep the buses running on time.
 
Working with the Governor’s Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, the city will explore improving accessibility measures and develop actionable steps toward removing barriers to transit use. 
 
The city will also create a low-cost, alternative transportation option for residents and visitors alike in the new Bike Share Program focused on equitable access. The program will be piloted with stations near the most populous public housing communities after robust community engagement.
  
“Regular transit users, who are overwhelmingly people of color, are some of our most hardworking residents,” said Mayor Stoney. “They shouldn’t have to suffer longer commutes or less flexible transportation options…These opportunities will allow us to explore what it really means to build a multimodal city.”
 
Climate Change:
 
Mayor Stoney said the city has a responsibility to pursue environmental justice, noting the disproportionate impact climate change has on communities of color in our city that have historically been redlined or subject to disinvestment.
 
The mayor also announced ambitious goals in renewable energy as part of its RVAGreen 2050 initiative.
 
By 2023, the city will complete purchases for 50 percent of its electricity usage to be in off-site renewable electricity. By 2025, the city will complete purchases for its electricity usage to be entirely renewable. 
  
Public Safety:
 
Finally, the mayor said everyone in our city has a role to play in reimagining a safer city. 
 
“Our goal is to help build up and strengthen our communities so that every single person can live their life to the fullest,” the mayor said, calling gun violence “a public health crisis deeply rooted in systemic racism and inequity.” 
 
The mayor cited the annual show of armed intimidation by demonstrators coming to Richmond for Lobby Day, noting that state law allows visitors to openly carry rifles through the streets of the city.
 
“Each year, Richmonders are threatened, and it’s unacceptable to me. That’s why I’m calling for the General Assembly and Governor Northam to ban the open carry of firearms in public spaces.” 
  
Mayor Stoney also highlighted the work of the Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety in recommending improvements in policing, including the “Marcus Alert.” He said the Richmond Police Department’s newly formed Office of Professional Accountability will also work with officers to address accountability concerns raised by the community independent of its Internal Affairs Division. 
 
Police will now carry and distribute business cards with their names, precinct information, space for filling in the report number, and contact information for filing complaints or offering compliments.
  
The mayor also encouraged city council to complete its work on establishing a Civilian Review Board this year, calling it a “vital element of our re-imagination of community safety. Public safety means something different for everyone, but I guarantee you, we are listening and learning to make Richmond a safer city for all,” he said.
 
In conclusion, Mayor Stoney said that every city employee is committed to the helping city and its residents emerge from the dark year that was 2020, so we can recover “the right way,” and “welcome the dawn of a city newly dedicated to justice for all.”

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The City of Richmond has selected its first poet laureate, Douglas Powell, known in the community by his stage name, Roscoe Burnems. Burnems is a poet, published author, spoken-word artist, comedian and teacher. 

Burnems has donated his time to the St. Joseph’s Villa Alternative Education Program, University of Richmond’s Partners in the Arts and ART 180, in addition to regularly leading poetry workshops at multiple middle and high schools in the City of Richmond.  He is a National Poetry Slam Champion, a former TEDx speaker and the founder of the Writer’s Den Art Collective.

“It is the diversity of the city and the adversities that we are able to overcome as a community that cultivate our resilience as people,” said Burnems. “This is the soil for change and progression to sprout and expand into a tree that blooms the fruit of our tenacity. We decide if that fruit is sweetened with peace or embittered with division.”

Evidence of an interest in and capacity for community engagement was part of the poet laureate selection criteria and a top priority of the mayor’s.

“The Richmond Poet Laureate should relish showing kids, teens and adults the healing, restorative power of the written word,” said Mayor Stoney. “Roscoe has exhibited time and again his interest in bringing poetry to the people, and his list of ideas for engagement projects tells me he’s the Richmonder for the job.”

The first ever Richmond Poet Laureate has proposed interweaving poetry into public visual art projects, hosting spoken-word competitions and showcases for youth, and partnering with Richmond Public Library system to organize a series of accessible workshops.

Said Burnems of his new post: “I can’t wait to get started.”

The Richmond Poet Laureate will make his public debut at the Poe Museum’s Birthday Bash, a virtual celebration of Edgar Allan Poe’s 212th birthday. Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services Reggie Gordon and Burnems will discuss the role of the poet laureate, how Richmond shaped his poetry and upcoming ways the laureate will engage with the community. Click here to learn more about the free festivities.

To learn more about Roscoe Burnems, click here.

To learn more about the Richmond Poet Laureate program, click here.

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