Casey Miller, a Seventh District resident, told Richmond City Council during public comment that the city should reserve 0.305% of its total budget to fund a $9,000,000 increase to the Family Crisis Fund.

Miller said the fund’s limited resources were exhausted in less than 72 hours after the January water crisis, and argued that the city’s high renter share and rising evictions require stronger local emergency housing supports.

"I am Casey Miller, a resident and runner in the Seventh District and a member of New Virginia Majority," Miller said. "After the water crisis events that transpired in January, some of the Family Crisis Fund was opened to impacted residents. Those funds were quickly claimed in less than 72 hours." Miller told council the speed of claims showed how urgently the fund needs more stable funding.

Miller noted broader housing pressures in Richmond, saying renters make up a majority of city residents and that the city recorded a high eviction rate last year. She described personal observations of neighbors struggling to cover small monthly expenses and recounted a loss of a friend she connected to rising rents and interrupted access to medication.

Miller said: "I'm haunted in knowing that just a hundred and $13 a month in funding is what could have saved their life." She tied the need for local emergency funding to broader trends, noting pressures from federal funding changes and aging infrastructure.

Council did not take formal action tied to Miller’s remarks during the meeting. Her comments were part of the public comment period; no council motion or vote related to a change in the Family Crisis Fund was recorded in the public proceedings on the transcript excerpt.

Miller asked council to treat the issue with urgency and to secure funding now to prevent avoidable housing losses as federal emergency supports and infrastructure stressors change.

For follow-up, the transcript shows Miller spoke during the public comment portion and no staff or council report providing a budget response was recorded immediately after the comment period.