Richmond Gas Works customers will see an increase of the purchased gas cost (PGC) in their February 2018 utility bills.  The cost for purchased gas will increase from $0.450 per 100 cubic feet (1 Ccf) used to $0.525.   The average customer who uses 70 Ccf’s of natural gas will see an estimated $5.25 increase in their monthly bill.  By law, Richmond Gas Works passes on the cost of natural gas purchased and delivered to customers, dollar for dollar, without any markup. Other components of the natural gas bill – the distribution charge and customer charge – are unchanged.        

 At the time of this release, Richmond Gas Works’ PGC rate is less than or equal to surrounding natural gas franchises. Richmond Gas Works’ Interim Director, Rosemary Green, attributes the increase to demand, “An extended cold snap along the east coast and greater demand in the natural gas market is responsible for this increase,” says Green.   ...

Richmond City Council today during its scheduled special meeting appointed Mr. Lou Lassiter as its new City Auditor to head the Richmond City Council Office of the City Auditor. His service is to begin February 1, 2018. In that position, Mr. Lassiter will assist Council in helping to ensure the administration, management, integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness of city government expenditures on behalf of Richmond residents.   Duties of the City Auditor include administering internal audit and investigation functions in verifying accountability over City resources; evaluating efficiencies and effectiveness of City operations; and, determining compliance with laws, regulations, and policies. The position provides management and oversight of Richmond City Council Office of the City Auditor   staff and other resources necessary in auditing evaluating, and investigating city departments, offices, boards, etc. and other individual or entity expenditures of city-funded mo...

The city’s Finance Information Services Team today announced the implementation of a new Electronic Content Management Software, Onbase by Hyland. This new software will be integrated with existing City of Richmond software tools to create an intelligent business workflow management platform. Over the next several months the system will be implemented with both the Accounts Payables and Revenue Administration groups. The implementation of this technology will allow for expedited invoice processing to vendors as well as interactive tools for our constituents to track tax information and payments.  “This project represents a commitment by the City of Richmond to meet the goals set forth by Mayor Stoney’s Richmond 300 plan by working to open all lines of communication and data transfer between all city departments and the people of the city,”  said Mimi Terry, Deputy Director/Controller and Acting Director of Procurement. For questions and more information, co...

On Monday, December 4, 2017, the City of Richmond successfully sold its $119 million tax-exempt General Obligation Public Improvement Refunding Bonds in order to refund existing debt service and achieve interest rate savings. The cost of funds for the city’s 2017D Refunding Bonds was approximately 2.4%, which is near the lowest cost of funds in several decades. The city took advantage of the historic low interest rate environment to refund two outstanding bond issues, which will result in the city reducing its existing debt service by roughly $13 million over the next 15 years. Moody’s and Fitch reaffirmed their strong ratings on the city’s 2017D Bonds at Aa2 and AA+, respectively. S&P is expected to reaffirm its AA+ rating of the city’s 2017D Bonds later this week. “These savings have the potential to accelerate funding for our priorities, such as school-related capital projects,” said Mayor Stoney. “The credit ratings additionally underscore Wall Street’s confidence in Ric...

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced the city is implementing a series of steps to improve customer interaction with permitting in the City of Richmond. In a letter sent to stakeholders on November 28, the mayor addressed changes coming to the city’s permit center located in Room 110 at City Hall. “After hearing from many relating to their experience applying for and receiving permits from Room 110, we are changing how these matters are handled here at City Hall,” said Mayor Stoney. “We are committed to making the process of getting a permit less time-consuming, and more customer-friendly and efficient, and will take full advantage of the technology we have available to make it easier to conduct business with the City of Richmond.”   The following steps will be implemented on December 1, 2017: Better office hours The Permit Center will now be open 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Monday - ­Friday), which previously operated from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. This will allow customers to come in ear...

Mayor Levar M. Stoney has begun a series of recruitment visits to Virginia’s colleges and universities as part of an effort to encourage students and prospective graduates to begin their careers by teaching in Richmond Public Schools. On Tuesday, the mayor visited Virginia State University, where he spoke with more than 200 students on the benefits of a teaching career and living in Richmond.  The Mayor’s outreach is a joint effort in collaboration with RPS to help close the teacher vacancy gap in RPS by tapping the talent of the state’s higher education system.  “Good students are the product of good teachers, and we want the very best for our schools,” said Mayor Stoney. “Our students deserve nothing less, and our top-rated colleges and universities have the talent that can make a difference in the lives of our children and take our city to the next level.” Over the next five months, the mayor will make recruiting visits to college campuses throughout t...

Mayor Levar Stoney today released a detailed update on steps his Administration has taken to address the findings and recommendations of the VCU Performance Review, conducted in May 2017.   The update is contained in the 25-page report found   here . The report provides a summary of the Administration’s efforts both to reform and improve the functioning of government and to build One Richmond. The report also contains summary recommendations developed by an interagency Cross Functional Team, consisting of employees from numerous different departments who examined issues concerning improving communications and processes within the organization. Finally, the report summarizes progress on key priorities of the Stoney Administration and identifies an action plan for the next three months leading into presentation of the FY 2019 and FY 2020 budget in March 2018.   As part of that action plan, Mayor Stoney today announced his intention to create a Performance Management and Cha...