[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6600757,"mediaKeyId","3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170","parentId",3021937,"title","Councilors propose removing non-budget ordinance items and other text changes to budget ordinance","audioSeconds",343,"startMs",6873000,"endMs",7216000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170&start=6873&end=7216","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170/thumbnail_6873000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6600757/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Councilors-propose-removing-non-budget-ordinance-items-and-other-text-changes-to-budget-ordinance","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6600757-3225774186587f5fa04d1176c21f2601/orig.mp4?Expires=1770443871&Signature=VGAaxar12omySUVUMPHs2YE2Qz2X8-SCfQDbkrkalQ29~IsY3WGye50YTgrEO-dQYTciKswrgYr0rBvCNmxY0j8lH4q3Ucsokdt9AO6f9dh0HRLbo270FRQO9QXXpf7-dbczb5UcNMBjUc2bOe6iWBoVimZjywpLdj1S9jd1A0YocZnqPcOQ4p5qe9G1wsR~sQtu8wd~9m9V2CNE3yM92xnHqZg-9GZ1hYgjwvAg~vlyosae-XB-9szWsxxfoO25DBmS-oKtCyRkljS0x3l00aO9M45dQ7-6Ky9GZX2bFGmc8vNoPSgHFUGU8wXBkPb4ii0PU41FdFCRLdBQ-E-PKA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Richmond City","date","2025-04-16T00:00:00Z","article","Council staff presented draft text amendments to the city’s proposed budget ordinance and council members discussed several substantive changes that would alter the ordinance beyond dollar-line items.

Will Perkins, senior legislative services manager, briefed the body on a set of proposed ordinance text amendments submitted by multiple council members. The proposals discussed included removing non-budget-specific ordinance language from the proposed budget ordinance (one submission would strip several sections that address matters such as city attorney opinions and residency requirements), establishing that janitorial and security contractors pay wages at the city minimum wage, and changing timeline requirements for mayoral budget submission and formal presentation to council.

Perkins characterized several of the larger proposals as policy-level changes and said staff would seek council input before drafting final ordinance language. Council member Gibson and President Newbill said removing text not directly tied to budget numbers would keep the budget process focused on fiscal decisions; Gibson said she would review whether to pursue a narrower or broader strike of text.

Sabrina Joy Hogg, interim CAO, presented a preliminary cost estimate for the janitorial/security wage proposal: approximately $1,100,000 for janitorial contracts and $2,400,000 for security contracts (totaling about $3,500,000) if contracted workers were paid $20 per hour, and she suggested treating the change as a budget amendment rather than a tax or outside action.

Other text proposals included restructuring non-departmental (partner agency) allocations into categorical blocks rather than individual line-item awards and a proposal related to Richmond Public Schools fund balance treatment that would align the ordinance with state law on how prior-year unexpended funds are reallocated.

Council members discussed the feasibility of restructuring partner funding and suggested working with administration and auditors across the coming year to design a process. On the schools fund-balance item, Council member Gibson asked for additional details and documentation so the body can align city and school procedures with applicable state law.

Ending: Staff said they would draft ordinance text once council provided direction on which text amendments to advance and would obtain cost and legal analysis for items such as the contractor-wage change before formal introduction.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Richmond City - City Council on 2025-04-16 10:00 AM - Budget Work Session To access the meeting via Microsoft Teams, please use the following link: https://bit.ly/4laJIlN or dial *67-804-316-9457 and enter ID: 937 780 472# - Apr 16, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Council staff presented draft text amendments to the city’s proposed budget ordinance and council members discussed several substantive changes that would alter the ordinance beyond dollar-line items.","taxTitle","Richmond City (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",5755,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6600762,"Council members press to publish amendment spreadsheets after packet arrived late",369,1769000,2138000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170&start=1769&end=2138","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170/thumbnail_1769000.jpg","/articles/6600762/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Council-members-press-to-publish-amendment-spreadsheets-after-packet-arrived-late","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6600762-ff49e42532d509ae3811cad25bda3ada/orig.mp4?Expires=1770443871&Signature=WkHGgS3PT4ytSuL4GA7icWQaLLrFFzdEG5FmtX45RD5Bv22LPyDttcMPdg-bS05r172WWXWzq7YzYycgUmf~C3Ma4RjizTkzPrOWaJ29JtvuDnofOXyhMiKlQqfIkBP6rM67U3hBML1oesCLy~lT84-i9um1sao1qJvGt7jKEjs~6kN43qHv14Y0M13EWo7~FlPRDP44hGn9rNGdFkXOn6MFvNIt2g2IR1D9lXk1lJwSVa4Mein2qA4jdolZcPMBrb~Hp6ANBmrV0moUXXrdNTVpWx-omHA3JOalYkBd98G~PI5q2UifUyKLjPkDefTnkh9fkV22-NlcEtj2bTWETQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the start of the operating-amendment review, several council members raised concerns that the full set of council-submitted budget amendments was not posted in the city’s official meeting portal.

Council member Gibson asked whether the meeting was being streamed and said she could not find the amendment document on Legistar, the city’s official meeting portal. Gibson said the only document she could locate on the agenda page was a short presentation and that the amendment spreadsheet showing which council member submitted each amendment was not posted.

Council member Trammell and other members emphasized the public interest in seeing who submitted each amendment so residents could follow amendments and make informed comments. President Newbill said she would work with staff to “as quickly as possible, get these things uploaded to our [site] so that citizens are not scrolling down,” and acknowledged some materials had changed day-to-day as staff updated numbers.

Administration and staff said they were working under tight time pressure to verify numbers before publishing, because some spreadsheets were based on earlier-quarter vacancy projections that differ from the figures in the proposed budget. Council members said they still wanted documents visible to the public while staff finish verification.

Ending: Council members asked staff to confirm that every amendment a member submitted is reflected in the packet and to upload an updated, public-facing amendment file before the next session so the public can follow deliberations.","Multiple council members said the public could not find the amendment spreadsheets on the official Legistar page and urged staff to upload full amendment documents so residents can follow the budget work session.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6600767,"Richmond council reviews $21 million in proposed operating enhancements and $8 million in draft reductions",7863,1066000,8929000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170&start=1066&end=8929","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170/thumbnail_1066000.jpg","/articles/6600767/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Richmond-council-reviews-21-million-in-proposed-operating-enhancements-and-8-million-in-draft-reductions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6600767-c322d95a73d6a3c3f93c004ccab27b09/orig.mp4?Expires=1770443871&Signature=YPLIGwAXeTFFFYISzB6QwIV-JHgH9akuePTmsPUK3UpMwxN0qSUtcwBtbdwb7iMxr7PGOnSq4MryPgzZervizAM0oshOMYJy8XdBV3N6zivAJIXK5OYIPSx76wIVeA8tiAkYO1Eh4w2tCwMfgSeClFZO8LCCM13d6ZB1NYZqBm4BNqp84HYrhreWuxiFjbz5w78neLhffZ58-1f18DDY2BJg-657QoebBpRLDDo6DV~m2u5CljQk28Hj2rlmuXDqFsxidhPMCGErHR4W7TZBMEuUU1B-Qp30elUEjk-JtmVfwxXsmW3iVjCqb98JyEgix1arWuETarNEvIRs~ghj8w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Richmond City Council convened a budget work session to review council-submitted operating amendments, focusing on both enhancements and reductions to the mayor’s proposed budget.

Council interim chief of staff Matthew Slatz said the council had submitted 48 enhancements totaling almost $21,000,000 and 77 possible reductions totaling just over $8,000,000. The session was intended to find alignment on additions and reductions before finalizing a balanced budget.

The discussion centered on where council and administration agree on investments and where they do not. Daniel Wagner, interim deputy chief of staff for council, and Sabrina Joy Hogg, interim chief administrative officer, provided administration responses and cautioned that some proposed personnel cuts use out-of-date vacancy data or target positions that are filled or under active recruitment.

Hogg told the council the budget as proposed already included nearly $14 million in direct reductions to departments and urged caution on cutting certain posts. She noted specific concerns about cuts to finance, emergency communications and other operational units: “If the operating cut goes through, we will have to close Southside and EDI because that is the function that is out of there that you are cutting,” she said, describing the potential program-level impacts of operating reductions.

Council members pressed for clarifications and for documents to be made publicly available; several members said they had only received spreadsheet packets that arrived the morning of the work session. Members asked administration and staff to verify personnel vacancy and recruitment status before the body adopts reductions so that cuts do not remove roles already filled or in active recruitment.

Enhancements discussed with at least some member support included increasing staffing for the city auditor; restoring or increasing funding for partner agencies (including homelessness services, youth programs and the family crisis fund); restoring positions reduced in the council chief of staff office; targeted additions to Richmond Ambulance Authority and Richmond Public Schools; and proposals to raise compensation for contract workers.

Council members also submitted competing levels of additional funding for Richmond Public Schools. The mayor’s proposal included an increase the presentation described as about $9.6 million; council members offered multiple proposals to increase that amount further (examples discussed included increases of $4.0 million and $6.9 million as separate proposals). Staff cautioned that the council can change the size of the allocation to schools but cannot compel how the district spends money once transferred.

Next steps identified by staff included verifying proposed reductions against current payroll and recruitment data, publishing corrected and complete amendment lists for public review, and continuing the discussion at an extended session devoted to capital investments and further budget balancing the following Monday.

Ending: Staff and administration will return verified personnel and operating-impact information to council and the public before the next work session so members can weigh trade-offs with up-to-date numbers.","At a budget work session, council members and administration discussed 48 proposed operating enhancements totaling nearly $21 million and 77 proposed reductions totaling just over $8 million. Administration warned many personnel reductions target positions that are filled or in recruitment and flagged program impacts if cuts proceed.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6600752,"Administration says $800,000 for mobile-home repairs is available; average per-unit cost $10K–$13K",278,8932000,9210000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170&start=8932&end=9210","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3021937-523ae1996e84aa1b917aded1c9c00170/thumbnail_8932000.jpg","/articles/6600752/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Administration-says-800000-for-mobile-home-repairs-is-available-average-per-unit-cost-10K13K","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6600752-3b52a4b3bc32665500dce3ba682da98e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770443871&Signature=adptWP04xLLJ2iVtjMRQTFF3wc~v7VMYVJGRI3TFl2U27iaoiQlezE7F7NjmmkyCXheQYjfUqcOHvyYllWW5JkPUaa3TnINF0~GScHX~lqtPE1g23-DYk~xHejOSdHYDKy4bt-bXtD7n0sZwoVGHpswEgub3uJ8T~vmTiY0oDraXZoAZw5HKy-bs3cPbkqBGqg39uW90xlWux1bkVnwv9kLRryowNPP661zokamQBvfdZU8Wj531xuZUfkCwINC3JAhPyxwqt9oxZsulmlakWxzzuyjdVnDJS8PVw2ZPxy8okQ5QqoAiJH1ZTeXriJn5wPudgB1mxvpZakSdZMf~jg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Merrick Malone, director of housing and community development, updated council on the city’s mobile-home repair program and the status of funds allocated for repairs.

Malone said Project Homes remains the contractor and that prior allocations of $500,000 and $300,000 (from earlier appropriations) were used to address a backlog of about 40–45 units; the waiting list had been reduced to roughly 10 families. He told council that the $800,000 appropriated for the current fiscal year had not yet been spent and that there is typically a lag between appropriation and when homeowners apply and work is completed.

Malone provided unit-level information to council offices and said the average cost per repaired unit runs between $10,000 and $13,000. He said the remaining $800,000 is available and staff will begin or continue disbursements and scheduling as applications are processed.

Council member Trammell said constituents had raised concerns about the pace and scope of repairs and asked for the itemized record that Malone said had already been sent to Trammell’s office; Malone offered to distribute the same detail to other council members.

Ending: Housing staff will continue processing applications and share the itemized per-unit accounting already provided to council staff so members can see how funds were spent to date and what remains available for repair work.","Housing staff said the $800,000 allocated for mobile-home repair has not yet been spent and that prior-year allocations were used to complete a waiting list. Staff said the program typically spends about $10,000–$13,000 per unit and that a backlog has been reduced.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Councilors propose removing non-budget ordinance items and other text changes to budget ordinance

Council members press to publish amendment spreadsheets after packet arrived late

Richmond council reviews $21 million in proposed operating enhancements and $8 million in draft reductions

Administration says $800,000 for mobile-home repairs is available; average per-unit cost $10K–$13K