Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement today following passage of the FY2017 Richmond Government Budget: “I again want to thank Richmond City Council for the hard work undertaken through a very difficult budget deliberations process.  A great deal of work was done and hard decisions made to identify the additional $9.5 million in capital and operating funds for Richmond Public Schools.  These additional funds build on the more than $145 million in operating funds submitted as part of my budget. With this increased funding, that brings the total operating funding for Richmond Public Schools to $151.5 million; again the largest single share of the city’s entire budget. I’m also pleased that additional funding was provided in other much needed areas like public works, police, fire, and finance. "The fact that budget discussions are always difficult discussions is not new.  Budget deliberations have even intensified as the country entered into a major recession ov

The City’s Office of Minority Business Development (MBD) hosted more than 200 program graduates at the Empowerment 2016 forum for small and minority owned businesses at the Carillon at Dogwood Dell on May 12. The event acknowledged the individuals who have completed courses offered through the MBD Technical Assistance Program including - Money Smart, Construction Series, Emerging Small Business 101, Intermediate Small Business 201, and a host of other elective courses over the past year. Many of the program participants completed business plans during the program and are now implementing strategies to meet their goals. In speaking of the Empowerment 2016 forum, Mayor Dwight C. Jones noted, “We recognize the importance of providing the necessary assistance to help entrepreneurs build better, stronger businesses, as a sturdy, diverse business base of successful small and minority businesses expands economic opportunities for all Richmonders.” During the event Penny Gregory, Owner of

           The City of Richmond (“City”) has reached a settlement in the federal lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center and the law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP regarding the City’s code enforcement efforts in mobile home parks.  The suit alleged that the City discriminated against mostly Latino residents in two of those mobile home parks where some of the most numerous and serious maintenance code violations were found.             Through the course of the case, the City maintained that it took many steps to assist mobile home residents in repairing health and safety code violations. This included reaching out to mobile home manufacturers, local non-profits, and others to obtain free or inexpensive help for those residents. The City also maintained that it took great steps to be flexible with mobile home residents in the two mobile home parks where the plaintiffs resided. Although the City provided language assistance services to those mobile home residents, those effor