The city of Richmond placed first in its population range in the 2010 Digital Cities Survey which is conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Government Technology magazine. The survey measures and assesses the use of information technology by local governments which are categorized by their population size. “I extend my sincere congratulations to the hardworking employees of the city’s Department of Information Technology for receiving this national recognition,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “Today’s tough economic climate requires us to continually rethink how business is conducted and services are rendered. Achievements such as this are reflective of the city’s efforts to improve service delivery, even when faced with fewer employees and smaller budgets.” The first place ranking is a first for the city of Richmond in the ten year history of the Digital Cities Survey. The previous high of second was obtained twice, once in 2005 and again in 2007. The Digital Cities Survey ...

~2011 legislative breakfast with state delegation lays out legislative priorities~ Richmond, VA - The City of Richmond presented its legislative priorities for the 2011 Virginia General Assembly during a breakfast meeting with members of the state delegation. This is the first year that the Mayor, City Council and Richmond Public Schools have presented a unified legislative agenda. "The Mayor, City Council and the School Board are figuratively and literally on the same page with our legislative program," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "In order for our city to reach its fullest potential it is imperative that we as leaders of this city - Senators, Delegates, City Council and Richmond Public School Board Members - work together to meet the needs of our residents." The City is calling for help from the state delegation in moving forward with educational opportunities for all of Richmond's children; reducing urban blight; increasing economic development; creating ...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today issued the following statement concerning Marcus Jones, deputy chief administrative officer for Finance, and his appointment as city manager for the city of Norfolk. "Marcus Jones' appointment to the role of city manager for the city of Norfolk is bittersweet for me. When I recruited Marcus to Richmond, I knew what a great talent we were bringing to our city. The work that he has done over the past 16 months has met or surpassed every expectation that I had. Marcus has the ability to build organizations and get the best performance from his staff. In the area of finance, he was able to curtail the use of costly consultants and restructure operations with city employees. Under his leadership, staff implemented programs that have resulted in significant budget savings. Marcus is a unique talent and it would be natural for my good friend, Mayor Paul Fraim, to lure him back. This is clearly an important move for Marcus' career, and he deserv...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today issued the following statement reiterating plans to build a new jail at the current site: “A modern and humane jail is critical for our City and is long overdue. We have given adequate attention and consideration to varying ideas for a jail. Now we must work against the city’s plans for a new jail being held hostage by competing political interests and indecisiveness. It was our duty to consider whether alternative proposals would likely save both time and money and we’ve done that. It is clear now that delay will only serve to cost taxpayers additional money and leave existing conditions in place that have for too long gone unaddressed. “In order to improve safety and other conditions, a new jail has to be built as quickly as practicable. The current facility on Fairfield Way offers the clearest opportunity to build quickly and effectively. The fact that the city owns the land will keep costs down for the taxpayer and help avoid further scheduling del...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced today that the city will launch an electric vehicle pilot for the city’s fleet. The announcement coincided with a visit from Ford Motor Company as part of Ford's "Charging into the Future Electric Vehicle Tour" that began in Portland, Ore. in August. Richmond was chosen as one of 14 stops where Ford is debuting the Transit Connect Electric demo vehicle. The following is Mayor Jones' statement from the press conference: "I want to thank everyone for being here today. I don’t get very many "firsts" in life anymore; but today I've just completed another first for me - the driving of an all-electric vehicle. It's amazing to be standing here in front of Main Street Station - an historic railroad station originally built in 1901 - and today one can drive up in an all-electric powered vehicle. Main Street Station is a focal point for much of the city's multi-modal transportation efforts; like bus rapid transit, t...

The city of Richmond was honored recently with two important awards in recognition of its commitment to and achievements in climate protection and sustainability. On October 5, 2010, the city of Richmond received a Silver Award in the 2010 Virginia Municipal League (VML) Green Government Challenge during the VML Annual Conference in Hampton, Virginia. The VML will ceremonially present the award to Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the Richmond City Council at tonight's regularly scheduled city council meeting. The Green Government Challenge is a friendly competition among local governments to encourage the implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce carbon emissions. Local governments can earn between 100 and 124 “green points” by adopting policies or implementing actions in categories ranging from energy efficiency and green buildings to land-use and innovation. In addition, local governments can earn Silver, Gold and Platinum levels of certificati...

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...