~Proposal includes bonus for City employees, assumes no tax increases, and covers employee and retiree health care cost increases~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones today submitted his 2012-2013 Biennial Fiscal Plan and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The two-year plan for the general fund budget totals $1.4 billion. For the first fiscal year, FY 2012, the planned spending totals $656.6 million with the remainder dedicated to the Rainy Day fund balance. For the second year, FY 2013, the planned spending totals $657.2 million with the balance falling to fund balance. One of the key goals of the Fiscal Plan is to increase the City's fund balance with an eye towards a ten percent rainy-day fund balance. The five-year Capital Improvement Plan totals $807.1 million with FY 2012 including $193.8 million in capital improvements. The construction of the four new schools and Justice Center consume $63.1 million or 61 percent of the FY 2012 General Fund projects. The Biennial Fiscal Plan includes no t...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ proposed ordinance of offering City property to non-profit organizations, civic associations, community groups, and other eligible entities to be developed into community gardens was unanimously approved by Richmond City Council last night. The new ordinance requires the creation of a permit process to enable certain parcels of City-owned real estate to be used for community gardens. “This program allows the City to offer its residents something with immeasurable value – the opportunity to grow healthy food in their own neighborhoods,” said Mayor Jones. “This in turn creates a cycle of healthy behavior throughout the community. Neighbors will not only become healthier through the foods they eat, they will also get to know each other, strengthening community ties. Children will get to see where food comes from and be more excited about eating a healthy diet. Residents will take back vacant lots from possible criminal behavior and businesses will want to locate to...

Click here to view a video of the Launch Event. Mayor Dwight C. Jones launched the City’s Neighbor-To-Neighbor (N2N) High-Impact Service Plan yesterday, to promote a new era of collaborative service and volunteerism in the City of Richmond. The Plan is the product of an extensive three-month landscape assessment and consultation process led by the City’s Chief Service Officer, Paul A. Manning. The N2N Service Plan was launched during a kick-off event on March 24 at the Arthur Ashe Center. The creation of this innovative plan was made possible through a $200,000 Cities of Service Leadership Grant awarded to the City last June, funded jointly by the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The N2N High-Impact Service Plan seeks to match community volunteers with six key service initiatives that align with the City’s Balanced Scorecard and Anti-Poverty Initiative and address critical issues affecting the high-risk populations of youth and the elderly who reside in the City of ...

Mayor's Order #2011-3 WHEREAS by the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Richmond I do hereby create the Anti-Poverty Commission; and WHEREAS under this authority, the Anti-Poverty Commission is hereby established to develop strategies to address poverty that have demonstrable results for increasing employment and educational attainment, improving transportation, and enhancing healthy communities for Richmond residents; and WHEREAS the City of Richmond seeks to identify the root causes of poverty in the City and develop policies designed to address these causes; and WHEREAS according to the US Census 2009 American Community Survey, 22.1% of Richmond residents are below the poverty threshold set by the Federal government, compared to 7.2% average for the Commonwealth of Virginia; and WHEREAS the US Census 2009 American Community Survey reports the median household income for residents of the City of Richmond as $37,735, while the median household income for the Comm...

Mayor's Order #2011-2 WHEREAS by the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Richmond I do hereby create a Commission on Pension Liability Assessment; and WHEREAS there is currently a great deal of focus nationally, and within Virginia, on the pension liabilities of major public pension funds; and WHEREAS it is paramount that the City of Richmond keep its promises to its employees in regard to their pension benefits; and WHEREAS pension liabilities represent a significant potential liability to the City and its taxpayers, with the City contributing over $40 million per year into our retirement system – a number that will exceed $45 million by FY 2012-13; and WHEREAS the Commission is hereby established to give my Administration and City Council advice on ways to improve and capitalize on our retirement system’s assets and challenges; and I, Dwight C. Jones, Mayor of the City of Richmond, do hereby set forth to develop a Commission on Pension Liability Assessment, and d...

This morning Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced that Luck Stone Corporation has signed on as the presenting sponsor for this year’s XTERRA East Championship June 11-12 in Richmond, VA. Amid concerns that the XTERRA East Championship might not take place in Richmond this year without a local sponsor, Luck Stone saw an opportunity to partner with the City of Richmond to bring world-class athletes to Richmond and bring world-class athletes out of Richmonders. Luck Stone’s sponsorship of XTERRA is just the beginning of a long-term partnership with the City of Richmond and support for the local community. Mayor Jones stated, “We are pleased that the XTERRA East Championship will again take place in Richmond, Virginia, and we are grateful to Luck Stone for making this possible. The City has shown great support for this event with the maintenance of our trails and logistical support. Now that we have a sponsor to provide XTERRA with the financial support, we finally have all the element...