The City of Richmond has been recognized by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) for publishing its first-ever Citizen Centric Report demonstrating accountability and transparency to citizens. The AGA awarded the city with a Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting for its 2017 report to citizens. The AGA encourages governments to publish the report informing citizens of fiscal priorities, performance results and future challenges. The report aims to provide citizens with a better understanding of their government by communicating financial and community information in visually appealing and understandable four-page documents.   To achieve the Certificate of Excellence, a government must incorporate into their report the program’s high standards of content, visual appeal, readability, distribution and timeliness in reporting as outlined in the AGA’s judging guidelines. “I am proud of the work our Department of Finance has done,” said Mayor Stoney. “This award r

Mayor Stoney joined officials from the City’s Department of Economic and Community Development and the Office of Minority Business Development this morning to celebrate the recipients of the first loan under the City’s new Micro-Enterprise Loan Program. The Mayor cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Biscuits & Waffles at 521 East Main Street. Iron Waffles LLC, doing business as 521 Biscuits & Waffles, is owned by Aaron Bond and his wife, Maria Jose’ Mejia Ruiz. The 521 Biscuits & Waffles   is a gluten-free restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. “Small businesses are essential to flourishing communities and growing a prosperous city,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m extremely proud of the work our Office of Minority Business Development is doing to support and encourage entrepreneurial growth and development, and I look forward to seeing how this micro loan program will help launch many other successful new businesses.” “I am very excited about this important ribbon cutting e

Late Friday, June 15,   RVA311   will launch!   RVA311   is a brand new and online, cloud-based interface powered by AvePoint Citizen Services for managing citizen, business and visitor requests. This user-friendly application will have its own website URL (rva311.com) and become available as a mobile application early next month. It will work with any internet-connected device, anytime, anywhere. RVA311   is designed to improve service delivery and enhance citizen engagement for non-emergency requests. The self-service portal will enable citizens, businesspersons and visitors to submit service requests by category, and then by specific service need, and provide for images and files to be uploaded as well.   Mayor Levar M. Stoney called this digital transformation of how the city serves citizens, businesses and visitors “a game changer,” and thanked the four-time Microsoft Partner of the Year Award winner for this technology gifted to the city. “AvePoint’s investment in Richmond and