At the Mayor's Redistricting Task Group Meeting, Wednesday, July 6, 2011,the Redistricting Committee presented their final report to Mayor Dwight Jones. The committee made recommendations, including three plans for redistrict in the City to address in light of the high poverty rates and concentrations of poverty in the East End and South Side. Under state law, City Council must adopt a redistricting plan by December 31, 2011 to accommodate population shifts reflected in last year's census. Click Here to view the Redistricting Task Group presentation to the Mayor.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones today accepted the Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) magazine Best Small American City of the Future award for the city of Richmond, during the fDi American Cities of the Future 2011/12 awards ceremony in Washington, DC. Joining the Mayor in accepting the award was city’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Economic and Community Development Peter Chapman, city’s Director of Economic and Community Development Lee Downey and the President and CEO of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce Kim Scheeler. Mayor Jones said, “This is a timely award as it not only reassures us that we are moving in the right direction, it also validates the recent CNBC ranking of Virginia being the top state in the nation to do business. It is a reflection of the dynamic local economy of Virginia’s capital city, as we have embraced economic development as a core foundational service and we are committed to maintaining an international focus.” “It also bears emphasis that our urba...

~RMA could return funds to the city before year end~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones today announced the impending repayment of monies to the city in the amount of $60.3 million from the Richmond Metropolitan Authority (RMA). The RMA is an independent authority and political subdivision that was created in 1966. It was formed originally to build and maintain a toll expressway system to serve the Richmond metropolitan area. Its members include Richmond as well as Chesterfield and Henrico counties. In its formative years, the city of Richmond was the only member of the partnership to contribute land and provide financial support to RMA. “There are many things this administration has been working to set right for the city of Richmond. Where our financial picture is concerned, the city’s financial operation has been structurally unbalanced in many ways and we've been working to correct things like moving to twice a year tax collections and eliminating the need for revenue anticipation ...

~Virginia is one of nine states selected nationwide to host educational expansion meetings~ Richmond, VA – Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the Virginia Partnership For Out-Of-School Time (VPOST) are proud to announce that the city of Richmond will host a Mayoral Summit to discuss the need for before and after school programs, summer activities and other out-of-school time (OST) learning opportunities for youth. To strengthen ways that city and state leaders collaborate to provide these opportunities, the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families (YEF Institute) has selected nine statewide afterschool networks from across the country to host mayoral summits on expanding access to afterschool programs and building citywide OST systems. The project is generously supported through a partnership between the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and The Wallace Foundation . Planning for a 2012 Richmond Mayoral Summit will begin in the upcoming weeks. “I commend VPOST...

~$7.1 million collected is three times higher than the amount collected prior~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones reported on the city’s 2011 Real Estate Tax Amnesty program which took place from February 15 to April 15, 2011. The Jones Administration sought and won the authority to offer the amnesty program during the 2010 General Assembly session and the city of Richmond was the only locality authorized to have such a program. "Our first amnesty program covering past-due real estate taxes waived any penalties to the real estate taxes owed by a property-owner," said Mayor Jones. "Through this program we were able to provide some relief for those taxpayers who may still have been adjusting to the new twice-yearly real estate collections, as well as just general relief in light of the tough economy we’ve been facing." Taxpayers had until April 15 to pay without penalty. The program covered past-due real estate taxes, and taxpayers were able to make payments directly to the c...

~Ordinance introduced to transfer funds back to City~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones introduced an ordinance today to transfer $2.1 million in funding being held by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) to the City's general fund. The funds represent remaining project monies from the redevelopment of the former Miller & Rhodes department store and related parcels, which was managed by RRHA for the City of Richmond. The Jones administration had initially called for the remaining project funds to remain with RRHA in preparation for the planned purchase, on behalf of the City, of the Fan-area GRTC property. Mayor Jones wanted the city to have an active role in the future of the site because of the significant development potential. "Initial plans for directing these funds to the purchase of that site have shifted as we've acquired better and additional information with respect to the needs of that particular site," said Mayor Jones. "Additional co...

Today, Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced the selection of Tompkins/Ballard Joint Venture as the recommended vendor for the design and construction of the new city jail. The firm was selected for the $135 million project having received the highest overall ratings of four firms competing for the work. "Technical design, value-added enhancements, life cycle cost, price and minority business involvement were areas where the Tompkins/Ballard Joint Venture scored highly," Mayor Jones said. Citing extensive experience building correctional facilities in urban areas, Mayor Jones noted that the joint venture also proposed the most creative and flexible design. “Tompkins/Ballard had the only proposal that did not have a phased approach which would have required relocation of jail inmates,” said Mayor Jones. Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody noted, "The proposed design meets the core needs of the Sheriff’s Department, especially in that they propose a single-phase construction which would...