Sale allows city to save more than $41 million in additional interest costs over next 20 years; reduce s   payment period for new school construction by five year s F ollows reaffirmed AA+ bond rating by Fitch and Standard & Poors, Aa1 rating by Moody’s   Based on a competitive bidding process finalized on November 19, on December 10, 2020, the City of Richmond will close on its $103.5 million tax-exempt General Obligation (GO) Bonds, Series 2020A in order to issue new debt for city and schools projects, and its $51.6 million taxable Series 2020B bonds to refund existing debt service for interest rate savings.   Through the tax-exempt bond sale, the city is avoiding about $41.6 million in additional interest payments over the next 20 years compared to previous borrowing assumptions.   The overall true interest cost of funds for the city’s 2020A Bonds was approximately 1.42 percent, which is the lowest cost of long-term GO bonds for city and schools projects in the city’s history, o

The Task Force to Reimagine Public Safety today publicized its final recommendations to the Stoney administration.   Click here to read the report.  The final recommendations come after the task force met twice monthly for three months. The task force’s three subgroups met weekly throughout that time.    Statement from Mayor Stoney:   “I’m mindful and appreciative of the emphasis the task force placed on equity and restorative justice throughout the process. The report is firmly rooted both in those shared values and an acknowledgement of the difficulty of changemaking on a large, permanent scale.  “My administration is committed to starting the necessary work to turn these recommendations into the policies, procedures and practices required to make this a safer city for each and every resident.    “Building the long-term, innovative, equitable public safety infrastructure envisioned in this report will take sustained effort, community engagement and education, but I have full faith th

Application materials are available here Applications for the city’s General Fund non-departmental grants, which go to local organizations to fund community-oriented programming, are now available on the city website.     Eligible organizations may apply for the city to fund specific programming in three key priority areas: children, youth and education; housing, human services and health; and the arts and culture. Additionally, this application continues to be the form for all quasi-governmental organizations to apply for city funding.   This is a one-year funding opportunity for non-profits and public sector organizations working on a grassroots level to promote equity in the City of Richmond.    A virtual informational workshop will be held in early December to assist applicants with completing their materials. Information on that opportunity will be available on the same webpage as the application materials,  here.   All proposal materials are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, December 18,