~Paving Projects Totaling $1.4 Million Begin This Month~ The City of Richmond Department of Public Works announced the continuation of city paving projects to take place throughout the month of October and into November.  Paving work totaling $1.4 million, which begins on Tuesday, October 16, is in accord with the City Administration’s commitment to improving the city’s infrastructure. Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced an aggressive infrastructure improvement effort in 2010 to repave 25 percent of neighborhood streets over a five year period. The following projects should be completed by the end of November. The project areas are:  October 16, Williamsburg Road between Hatcher Street and the eastern City limits October 20, East Richmond Road between Oakwood Avenue and the eastern City limits October 22, Belt Boulevard between Hull Street and Broad Rock Boulevard October 24, Cowardin Avenue between Riverside Drive and Decatur Street November 1, Hull Street between J...

~Fan Permit Parking Zones 1-2 and Carver Permit Parking Zone~ Residents and visitors in parts of the Fan and Carver districts will soon see clean-up crews in their neighborhoods on a routine basis.  On Monday, October 15 the City’s Special Residential Parking District Clean Sweep Program goes into effect.   The initiative is designed to enhance the cleanliness of designated areas by cleaning the sidewalks and tree wells; picking up litter; removing posters and advertisements from utility poles, street signs, and other areas located on public property; reporting graffiti, environmental issues, missing or broken street signs/lights; providing weed abatement and limited maintenance and pruning of existing vegetation in tree wells and planters. Local Minority Business Enterprise, Community Business Group (CBG) won a contract for $250,000 to perform the service, following adoption of a resolution by City Council authorizing the use of certain increased parking ticket ...

The City of Richmond’s Finance Department is filling five key positions in the month of October while also enhancing its revenue collection strategies. A number of technology upgrades are expected to improve customer service and heighten customer outreach. Sharon Judkins, the deputy chief administrative officer for Finance and Administration, stated, “For the past six months, I’ve been focused on rebuilding and restructuring the city’s finance operation. With these appointments, we are well on our way to making necessary improvements.” Positions being filled include Deputy Director II (10/22), Marlo Von Kemp; Deputy Director I (10/15), Paul Jez; Controller (10/8), Alvin Cannon; Economist (10/15), Michael Gilbert; and Business Management Officer (10/8) Muhammed Owusu. A focus has been placed on revenue collection strategies and improving data integrity.  Steps being taken include (1) pre-billing notices to taxpayers, affording an opportunity to verify and clarify data, (2) more fre...

~ Community policing lauded for quick clearance rate~ RICHMOND, VA. – During a media briefing today concerning the homicide rate in the city of Richmond, Mayor Dwight C. Jones issued the following statement: “In September we had eleven (11) homicides in our city – the highest that we’ve seen in a month since 2006. (There were 12 in 2006.) While we are always attentive and concerned about crime, the fact that we haven’t seen double-digit homicides within a single month for quite some time is of great concern. We are tracking at a pace that indicates we will likely see an increase in our overall annual homicide rate by the end of this year. Even as we continue to address these crimes, there are few things that I want to point out. “The increase in homicides that we’ve seen does not appear to be related to any organized gang or drug activity. We see no common thread in the events of the past month. Our overall violent crime activity to date has actually decreased (down 4%), ...

I, too, want to see water and sewer rates lowered for our residents.  We’ve taken steps to hopefully move us in the direction of adjusting rates, and I’m expecting recommendations from DPU by the beginning of the year.  I’ve also asked DPU to explore how we can offer more life-line rates for those that need them. We currently have our MetroCare program for the gas utility, but I want to see expanded options. Our challenge is that we face a number of fixed costs that must be paid that are inseparable from the service of delivering quality water and wastewater services.  We have an aging infrastructure and a combined sewer system and we have to maintain historic canals and water and wastewater treatment plants that were built in the early to mid 1900’s.  Even with these challenges, the City offers the lowest connection fees in the area.  It has also been erroneously communicated that our minimum water rates and our minimum sewer rates are the highest in the...

After a four-week-long competition which was held on Facebook, Outside Magazine  has announced Richmond, VA as the winner of the title “best river town in America.” This means that since Richmond was named the “ Best Town Ever ,” it was placed on the cover of Outside’s October 35th anniversary issue .  Richmond received 9,315 votes and won over the other nine competitors, including: Hood River, Oregon; Nevada City, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Boise, Idaho; Missoula, Montana; Durango, Colorado; and Ithaca, New York. Outside, with a print circulation of about 700,000 and a total audience of more than 2 million, has featured outdoors towns and cities annually for over 15 years.

A recent audit report (August 30) done by the City's Auditor suggests that operationally, the Office of Minority Business Development (OMBD) needs to make some improvements. The City plans to continue to improve upon having an inclusive agenda and appreciates the Auditor and the City Council supporting the City's efforts to include minority businesses in the economic opportunities that the City generates. Even though areas where the office needs to be improved were highlighted, the audit report indicated that "OMBD has made a positive changed in minority participation" and "there has been a steady increase in spending with minority subcontractors since FY 2008." The report also states that the "number of minority subcontracts receiving payments has increased" and shows that the City has increased the universe of those firms doing business with the City of Richmond. In just a few short years, City spending with minority business has increas...