Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn, city finance officials and representatives of Davenport & Company, the city’s financial advisors, completed successful visits with Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s last week in New York. The delegation presented the city’s improved financial position and extensive growth in economic development, with the mayor highlighting accomplishments in a number of key focus areas in advance of a new debt issuance planned for this summer to support capital project spending and economic development initiatives. Some key initiatives that were well received by the rating agency analysts included: Early completion of the FY2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which allowed the city to save over $13 million in a debt refunding The successful 2017 tax amnesty program Investment of $150 million in new school facilities Poverty reduction efforts such as increased state grant fund...

The City of Richmond has been recognized by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) for publishing its first-ever Citizen Centric Report demonstrating accountability and transparency to citizens. The AGA awarded the city with a Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting for its 2017 report to citizens. The AGA encourages governments to publish the report informing citizens of fiscal priorities, performance results and future challenges. The report aims to provide citizens with a better understanding of their government by communicating financial and community information in visually appealing and understandable four-page documents.   To achieve the Certificate of Excellence, a government must incorporate into their report the program’s high standards of content, visual appeal, readability, distribution and timeliness in reporting as outlined in the AGA’s judging guidelines. “I am proud of the work our Department of Finance has done,” said Mayor Stoney. “This awa...

Mayor Stoney joined officials from the City’s Department of Economic and Community Development and the Office of Minority Business Development this morning to celebrate the recipients of the first loan under the City’s new Micro-Enterprise Loan Program. The Mayor cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Biscuits & Waffles at 521 East Main Street. Iron Waffles LLC, doing business as 521 Biscuits & Waffles, is owned by Aaron Bond and his wife, Maria Jose’ Mejia Ruiz. The 521 Biscuits & Waffles   is a gluten-free restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. “Small businesses are essential to flourishing communities and growing a prosperous city,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m extremely proud of the work our Office of Minority Business Development is doing to support and encourage entrepreneurial growth and development, and I look forward to seeing how this micro loan program will help launch many other successful new businesses.” “I am very excited about this important ribbon cutti...

Late Friday, June 15,   RVA311   will launch!   RVA311   is a brand new and online, cloud-based interface powered by AvePoint Citizen Services for managing citizen, business and visitor requests. This user-friendly application will have its own website URL (rva311.com) and become available as a mobile application early next month. It will work with any internet-connected device, anytime, anywhere. RVA311   is designed to improve service delivery and enhance citizen engagement for non-emergency requests. The self-service portal will enable citizens, businesspersons and visitors to submit service requests by category, and then by specific service need, and provide for images and files to be uploaded as well.   Mayor Levar M. Stoney called this digital transformation of how the city serves citizens, businesses and visitors “a game changer,” and thanked the four-time Microsoft Partner of the Year Award winner for this technology gifted to the city. “AvePoint’...

Video:   Mayor speaks about the Challenge     Mayor Levar Stoney recently accepted the First Mayor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans and their Families (SMVF). The Mayor’s Challenge is a strategic process to help communities develop, implement and measure comprehensive suicide prevention efforts. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) host the Mayor’s Challenge at the Federal level. Richmond is one of just eight cities including Albuquerque, NM; Billings, MT; Helena, MT; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; and Phoenix, AZ participating. These first eight cities completed a Policy Academy held in Washington, DC on March 14 - 16, 2018.   “This is an excellent goal for the City of Richmond and an important opportunity for our city to support our active duty military and veterans,” said Mayor Stoney. “To be one of just eight cities selected in the country and ...

Lean, fiscally responsible spending plan includes significant investments in the whole child, core priorities. Mayor Levar M. Stoney this evening applauded passage of the FY2019 and FY2020 biennial budget by Richmond City Council. “This is a values-based, fiscally responsible plan that invests in and improves upon our targeted priorities: core services, public safety, poverty mitigation and education,” said Mayor Stoney. “I am particularly proud of the roughly $40 million we have dedicated in this spending plan toward meeting the needs of the whole child through investments in our Office of Community Wealth Building, Human Resources, Social Services, Parks and Recreation and the Richmond Public Library System.   “I thank Richmond City Council for their hard work and due diligence in meeting our shared responsibility to provide our residents with the strong financial management they expect and deserve, and for approving a plan that sets us on a sound fiscal path for continued growth...

For the past several years the Department of Public Works Fleet Management Division has been steadily climbing the ranks of pre-eminent fleet operations in North and South America. This year it was rated 23rd on The 100 Best Fleets in the Americas, as published in Governing Magazine.  Each year The 100 Best Fleets makes its selections from among more than 38,000 public fleets in North America and thousands more in South America. This year’s award symbolizes the strides taken since 2015, when the Fleet Management Division received Honorable Mention. It did not make the list in 2016; but ranked 66th in 2017. It increased its standing by 43 this year.   The Fleet Management Division maintains and services approximately 2400 units of City vehicles and equipment. Approximately 1,200 maintenance work orders are completed monthly to ensure the maximum safety and lifespan of each vehicle. The division also holds the Blue Seal of Excellence certification from the National I...