“I thank Governor Northam for his leadership in calling for a special session of the Virginia General Assembly to address gun violence in our commonwealth. 

The governor is right – thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need action to bring common sense gun regulation to Virginia, and localities need the authority to protect their communities. 

Now is the time for EVERY ONE of our state lawmakers to stand up and be counted. We owe it to the families in Virginia Beach, to the family of 9-year-old Markiya Dickson and to every life lost in Richmond and across the commonwealth due to gun violence. 

Every Virginian deserves to go to work or play in the park or walk our streets without fear. It’s time for courage and accountability. November is coming.”

Continuing his commitment to public engagement with residents in every part of the City of Richmond, Mayor Levar M. Stoney is pleased to announce the following dates for Community Office Hours to be held in all nine council districts:

If you have any need for language access accommodations like CART services, an assisted hearing device, a sign language interpreter, or other language interpreters, please send an email to RVAMayor@richmondgov.com or call the Office of the Mayor at (804) 646-7970 at least 5 business days before the event in your district.

The national accreditation for public safety communications has been awarded to Richmond’s 911 agency.

The Richmond Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) received the national Public Safety Communications Accreditation on May 4 from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA).

“The CALEA accreditation validates what we already know – that the City of Richmond has dedicated and well-trained public safety professionals who are ready, willing and able to assist our residents with emergency response communication when they need us the most,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “I’m proud of our DEC team for this impressive achievement.”

Through the multi-year accreditation process, the department voluntarily demonstrated how it meets international best practices in public safety and professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery. It completed a self-assessment phase and a meticulous site-based assessment in October 2018 of community engagement, policy, procedures, equipment and facilities by CALEA assessors.

“The accreditation process has evolved Richmond DEC from a good emergency communications center to a great center,” said Director Stephen M. Willoughby. “CALEA’s benchmarks will help ensure that we remain a high-performance organization that provides superior service to those who live, work and play in the city of Richmond,” he said.

The accreditation was awarded during the CALEA conference, May 1-4, 2019, in Huntsville, Alabama. Willoughby and Tory Maye, deputy director of operations; Jackie Crotts, deputy director of technology; and Kathy Berg, emergency communications manager, accepted the accreditation, after appearing before CALEA’s 21-member Board of Commissioners that reviewed all findings and determined its accreditation status.

This is DEC’s first award of national accreditation. It now moves into CALEA’s four-year accreditation cycle that includes four annual remote, web-based file reviews and a site-based assessment in the fourth year.

“This award of accreditation does not come easy,” said CALEA President Anthony Purcell. “The Richmond Department of Emergency Communications went through a rigorous review and evaluation of their organization and then implemented the necessary policy and procedure changes. The process does not stop now. By voluntarily choosing to seek CALEA accreditation, DEC commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA’s standards. The Richmond community should feel confident that DEC is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety.”

CALEA was created in 1979 through the combined efforts of four major law enforcement organizations: The International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs’ Association and the Police Executive Research Forum.
 

The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) celebrates National Drinking Water Week, May 5 – 11, 2019. “Protect the Source” is the theme for this year’s campaign and provides the opportunity for partners of the American Water Works Association to highlight the vital role water plays in our daily lives and the quality of life we enjoy.

During National Drinking Water Week, representatives from DPU will be serving Richmond’s award-winning water at various water fill stations in the city. The public is invited to stop by one of three displays at the following locations during the week:

• Mon. May 6, 2019 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  City Hall 900 E. Broad St. Richmond VA 23219 (corner of 9th & Broad)
• Wed. May 8, 2019 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – James Center Richmond VA 23219 (corner of 9th & Cary St.)
• Friday, May 11, 2018 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Carytown Richmond VA 23221 (corner of Belmont St. & Cary St)

The City of Richmond is one of Virginia’s largest potable water producers, with a modern Water Plant that has the capacity to treat up to 132 million gallons of water a day from the James River.  Through its RVAH2O initiative, the City does its part to protect this vital source water.

The treatment plant, its 1200 miles of water mains, 6,500 fire hydrants and 13 pumping stations and storage facilities provide drinking water and fire protection to more than 62,000 customers in the City. The facility also provides water to the surrounding region through wholesale contracts with Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties and indirectly to Powhatan and Goochland counties.

To schedule a tour of Richmond’s Water Treatment Plant, call DPU’s Public Information Office at (804) 646-1064.