Sabrina Joy Hogg, interim chief administrative officer for Richmond City, told the Organizational Development Standing Committee that a printing and payee error affected the city’s property tax rebate distribution and outlined steps to reissue remaining payments.

Hogg said about 59,000 rebate checks were printed for the program, roughly 23,000 were mailed, and roughly 36,000 were held back. Of the mailed checks, about 15,000 have been cashed and roughly 8,000 remain outstanding. Around 8,300 checks used the wrong payee name or address; the administration estimates about 3,100 of those went out the door before the problem was caught and roughly 5,200 were pulled back. Hogg said the underlying rebate calculation was verified as correct but the wrong payee and some owner-year mismatches caused the error.

The city will let outstanding checks “go stale” on June 16 (90 days after issuance) and then reprint the remaining payments starting June 17, with the goal of mailing reissued checks by June 30, Hogg said. She also said finance has worked with banking partners to allow cashing of valid checks that institutions verify with the city, and that 69 stop‑payment refund requests had been received and would be reviewed.

Why it matters: thousands of Richmond homeowners are awaiting refunds from a rebate authorized by ordinance; delays and mis‑mailings affect households that planned on receiving the payments and have prompted repeated questions from council members.

Key facts and next steps
- Interim CAO: Sabrina Joy Hogg presented the update to the Organizational Development Standing Committee.
- Counts provided by administration (rounded): 59,000 checks printed; 23,000 mailed; 36,000 pulled back; about 8,300 checks had the wrong payee; roughly 3,100 of those wrong‑payee checks were mailed; about 15,000 cashed; about 8,000 outstanding. Hogg described these as approximate, rounded figures.
- The city did not place an immediate stop payment on all mailed checks because finance sought to avoid invalidating valid payments already in residents' hands. After some invalid cashed checks were discovered, finance placed stop payments and has coordinated with banks to permit valid checks to clear once verified by finance.
- Checks that remain uncashed will go stale on June 16. The administration plans to reprint and mail remaining checks beginning June 17 and hopes residents will have checks by June 30.
- Finance requested a “second look” review by the city auditor to sit with the finance deputy director who conducted the internal audit; councilmembers asked for written documentation summarizing counts, QC failures, and the new standard operating procedures (SOPs).

On the cause and accountability
Hogg said the rebate calculation itself was confirmed correct by two independent audits inside the finance function, and the principal failures were (1) a payee overwrite in the file transfer that replaced about 8,300 payee names with the name shown on the incorrect file and (2) use of the 2025 landbook for parts of the process while the ordinance requires the rebate be returned to the FY2024 property owner in certain cases, producing roughly 2,000 owner‑year mismatches.

Council members pressed administration for specifics on quality control and oversight. Council Member Gibson asked Hogg to repeat the numbers slowly to confirm the counts; Council Member Robertson and others asked what new QA/QC steps will prevent a recurrence. Hogg said finance has documented SOPs and intends to add multiple independent reviewers to the quality control process going forward.

Audit and documentation
Hogg said a deputy director within finance performed an internal audit of the process from start to finish and that the administration asked the city auditor for a second review to “sit with” that internal audit. Several council members requested written copies of the audit findings, the newly drafted SOPs, and a short written summary of the counts and the plan for reissuing checks.

What residents should do
Council members asked for guidance for residents. Hogg said: cash a check if it is properly made out to you; if a valid check bounces because of a stop payment, request a refund from the city; if a check was incorrectly made out to someone else, destroy it or return it to finance. Officials said finance will attempt to recoup funds paid to wrong recipients where appropriate.

Remaining questions and council direction
Council members repeatedly requested more detailed documentation: itemized counts, the new SOPs, and confirmation that reissued checks will not duplicate payments to accounts that already cashed a valid check. Hogg committed to providing the written materials and to coordinating with the auditor for a second review. Finance will reprint remaining checks after June 16 and coordinate with banks to reconcile cashed items and recoup any improperly paid funds.

Ending
Council members expressed frustration at the delay and at perceived turnover in revenue positions; several asked for clearer process controls going forward. The committee requested the administration provide the written counts, QA documentation and SOPs to council as soon as available.