Mayor Dwight C. Jones presented his fourth budget to Richmond City Council in City Council Chambers on Tuesday, March 6. During his presentation of the Proposed Amendments to the Biennial Fiscal Plan for FY 2013, Mayor Jones stated, "the General Fund Budget and Capital Improvements Program I am proposing protect basic services; do not raise taxes; preserve the workforce while paring it down through attrition and efficiencies; expand services to youth and our most vulnerable populations; and invest in transformational projects that through partnerships will yield positive returns on investment in terms of both financial and human capital." Click here to view the Mayor budget proposal speech to City Council. Click here to view the proposed Amendments to the Biennial Fiscal Plan for FY 2013. Click here to view the proposed Capital Improvements Program for FY 2013-2017.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced the formation of a Task Force to review the Richmond Public Schools budget request to the city. The money the city provides to the Schools operating budget is already the largest on-going appropriation for a single agency in the city’s budget. The request sent to the Mayor this year is asking for an additional $24 million. “Too often in the City budget process, we focus our time and attention on ‘city’ services,” said Mayor Jones. “We tend to treat the school system as a ‘grantee,’ funding them with little review. I’m committed to spend what we need to get excellent results with education for our children, but first we need a comfort level on RPS spending.” The Schools Accountability and Efficiency Review Task Force will be co-chaired by James W. Dyke, Jr. and Eva Teig Hardy. Jim Dyke is a former Virginia Secretary of Education under Governor Douglas Wilder, and currently a partner with McGuire Woods. Eva Hardy is a former Virginia Secretary...