City of Richmond and Chesterfield County Awarded $400,000 ~ Planning grant funded to revitalize 4.7 miles of Hull Street Road~ The city of Richmond and Chesterfield County were awarded a $400,000 grant as part of an unprecedented collaboration between two federal agencies. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) jointly awarded the funds to help stimulate a new generation of sustainable and livable communities, connect housing, employment and economic development with transportation and other infrastructure improvements. The HUD-DOT funding will support 62 local and regional partnerships seeking to create a more holistic and integrated approach to connecting affordable housing, job opportunities and transportation corridors. The Richmond/Chesterfield collaboration is the only partnership in Virginia to be in the group of 62. The application being funded, which was filed in August, is to develop an inter-jurisdictiona...

The city of Richmond has been allocated $2.4 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to address foreclosed and abandoned properties in the Highland Park, Barton Heights, and Church Hill neighborhoods. The city is partnering with Bradley Development, LLC, Housing Opportunities Made Equal, LLC; Lifetime Homes; Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity; Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority; and, Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation to redevelop and facilitate the homeownership and rental opportunities of the acquired properties. Currently, 20 vacant and foreclosed properties have been acquired under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and are currently undergoing renovations. These properties will either be sold for homeownership or rented to persons whose total income is at or below the 120% Area Median Income (AMI). At least six homeownership opportunities will be created for p...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today introduced Paul Manning as the city of Richmond’s first Chief Service Officer. As Chief Service Officer, Manning will serve as a senior city official, reporting to Chief Administrative Officer, Byron Marshall. Mr. Manning is charged with developing and implementing a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and target volunteers to address the city’s greatest needs. Mayor Jones stated, “Paul Manning has a proven record as a senior level executive in the Richmond area in developing long and short term strategic business/financial plans; building financial, operational and administrative infrastructure which supports corporate objectives as well as, cultivating philanthropic donor relationships. In order to expand on our efforts to increase volunteerism, we needed an individual with the proven ability to provide proactive leadership in creating, developing and utilizing corporate resources to deliver growth of volunteerism in our city.” Mr. Manning will be th...

~Richmond one of only four cities selected to host such an event~ The city of Richmond, in conjunction with Richmond Public Schools (RPS) and the National League of Cities (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families are hosting Richmond's Community Conversation: Educational Alignment for Young Children on Wednesday, September 22, from 2 to 7:30 p.m., at the Richmond Convention Center. Based upon a review of efforts in 11 cities to improve outcomes for young children by third grade, NLC chose Richmond as one of only four municipalities to join with the NLC in planning and hosting local "community conversations" on this topic. Richmond was chosen for the Educational Alignment for Young Children Initiative after interviews with Dr. Carolyn Graham, deputy chief administrative officer for Human Services, and other city and school officials. The Community Conversation will focus on educational alignment efforts and identify ways that community stakeholders can work toget...

~Proposal submitted to City Council for action~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones is calling for enhanced tax relief for the elderly and disabled for 2011 and beyond. The Mayor's proposal follows state tax relief guidelines, but streamlines the city's current program by simplifying the relief schedule. The Code of Virginia allows localities to provide real estate tax relief to senior and disabled homeowners who meet certain income and net worth requirements. The city of Richmond has been providing such relief, but the structure under which the city has operated shows that Richmond is below the average of its peers for maximum income and net worth guidelines as well as per person participation. "By streamlining the current program we can increase the number of participants and provide more relief to some of our most vulnerable residents," said Mayor Jones. "With making a few simple changes, we can provide additional relief to more people without exceeding the current budget...

The city of Richmond Department of Information Technology (DIT) was recognized for several digital achievements as e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government announced its 2010 Best of the Web and Digital Government Achievement Awards . The Digital Government Achievement Awards recognize outstanding agency and department websites and projects at the application and infrastructure level. The city received awards for the Richmond Public Library (RPL) Debt Setoff System in the Government-to-Government category, Land Use Projects Parcel Mapper in the Government-to-Citizen City Government category, CommonCents – Employee Budget Feedback Process in the Government Internal category, and an honorable mention for the city’s Traffic Accidents and Hazards web page in the Government-to-Citizen category. “Congratulations to the hardworking employees of the city’s Department of Information Technology for receiving this national recognition,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “DIT is responsible for admi...

~Proposes savings as well as funding for low-income GRTC ridership, household weatherization improvements and neighborhood blight efforts~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced an estimated $6.7 million positive budget surplus for fiscal year 2010. The improved performance is attributed to the city's stepped up collection efforts, which have yielded $3.5 million more than anticipated, as well as tightened expenditure controls which have resulted in savings in overall expenditures for the past fiscal year. "This Administration stands for well-managed government and we've been working to strengthen the city's financial operations and fiscal controls. Today's announcement reflects our improved controls and operational advances," said Mayor Jones. "As I assembled my finance team, I made a commitment to City Council that you would receive financial information on a more-timely basis. Not only is the information more timely, but it is welcomed news that gives ...