NFL player and proud Richmond native Clelin Ferrell has generously agreed to donate $100,000 to two local relief efforts.  $50,000 will go to support the Eviction Diversion Program, founded in 2019 by the Stoney administration and managed through local nonprofit Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME).  The other $50,000 will support Richmond’s Family Crisis Fund, which provides one-time grants to families who have experienced income loss due to COVID-19.  The Stoney administration announced last week that the city has matched the Robins Foundation’s original contribution to the fund. Both the city and Mr. Ferrell’s contributions, through a partnership with local nonprofit Enrichmond, will be disbursed directly to Richmond families.  “Knowing who I am means knowing how much my hometown, Richmond, VA means to me,” said Ferrell. “There’s something special about the people from this city and how we are built. For a long time, we have had one of the highest eviction rate

Las oficinas de la Ciudad de Richmond seguirán cerradas al público entre el lunes 13 de abril y el domingo 3 de mayo.  Este cierre continuado está diseñado para garantizar la salud y seguridad de los residentes, empleados y el público en general, debido a la pandemia de COVID-19.  El personal esencial seguirá trabajando y los servicios esenciales seguirán funcionando. Puede acceder a una lista de esos servicios haciendo clic  aquí .  Por favor lea la página en Internet que ha dedicado la ciudad a este tema, haciendo clic  aquí , para obtener actualizaciones acerca de la respuesta dada por la ciudad al COVID-19. Si desea colaborar u obtener ayuda, visite la página  RVAStrong .  ##

The City of Richmond offices will remain closed to the public from   Monday,   April 13   through Sunday, May 3. The continued closure is designed to ensure the health and safety of residents, employees and the general public in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential personnel will continue to work, and essential city services will continue.   Access a list of those services here. Please check the dedicated city webpage,   linked here , for updates on the city’s response to COVID-19.  Check  RVAStrong  for ways to get and give help.  ##

The City of Richmond successfully sold $333.7 million in Public Utility Revenue and Refunding Bonds, of which $150.9 million was for new money projects and $182.8 million was to refund existing debt service for interest rate savings. The cost of funds for the city’s new money projects was approximately 3.09 percent, which is near the lowest cost of funds in several decades. In addition, the city took advantage of the low interest rate environment to refund its 2013A bond issue, which will result in the city reducing its existing debt service by $22.7 million over the next 23 years. Those savings will be spread across the city’s gas, water, and wastewater enterprise funds and will alleviate a portion of the expected future year rate increases. The bonds were highly rated by all three national credit rating agencies: Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch (Aa1, AA and AA, respectively). Investor interest appeared to be enhanced by the utilities credit rating upgrade the city received f

Richmond is offering loans of up to $20,000 for small businesses within city limits to help employers cover labor costs to keep businesses open and pay employee wages. The application is now available on RVAStrong and will be linked to from the Economic Relief Resources section of the city’s dedicated webpage, here . The RVAStrong webpage includes information on eligibility, supplemental documents required alongside the application, and a PDF of the application itself. Interested parties should email the following documentation to Rick Winston at the Department of Economic Development: Completed and signed Richmond Small Business Disaster Loan Program application; Documentation of weekly payroll expenses for the last eight weeks; Two years of the company’s financial statements; Two years of the business signed tax returns; and Two years of the applicants’ individual signed taxed returns. There is a limited amount of funding for this program. Applications will be co