Friday, May 13, 2016

Richmond City Council establishes a balanced FY 2017 Richmond General Fund Operating Budget of $717.1 million for Richmond Government: Includes $151.5 million for City's local contribution to Richmond Public Schools, an increase of $5.5 million

Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305 - Richmond, Virginia  23219 U.S.A.  - www.council.richmondva.gov
                                                            
COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED
Friday, 13 May 2016

Richmond City Council establishes a balanced FY 2017 Richmond General Fund Operating Budget of $717.1 million for Richmond Government: Includes $151.5 million for City's local contribution to Richmond Public Schools, an increase of $5.5 million

(Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) Richmond City Council today established the final parts of the Fiscal Year 2017 Richmond Government Budget (which runs from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017) on behalf of Richmond residents.

      Council’s annual budget represents the cornerstone and ultimate act of its policymaking stewardship and is the single most important local government document affecting all Richmond residents.

     Council is confident that this is a balanced budget that the current and a new Mayor of Richmond can manage effectively and efficiently and looks forward to working collaboratively with them to insure significant services are not jeopardized.

     Council is also confident that the important and appropriate budgetary decisions were made based on the needs and wishes of Richmond residents.

     In its deliberations, Council used the following community priorities: Education; Community Development and Poverty Reduction; Human Resources; Economic Development; and, Infrastructure, such as roads, alleys and sidewalks.

The Richmond City Council FY 2017 Richmond Government Budget established today includes the following important highlights:
                                                                  
  • Richmond City Council establishing a balanced FY 2017 General Fund operating budget of $717.1 million for Richmond Government. This Includes $151.5 million for the City's local contribution to Richmond Public Schools funding, an increase of $5.5 million.

·         Adoption of a $68.7 million Capital Improvements Program for FY 2017 that includes $9.0 million for school maintenance, $4.0 million more than originally proposed.

·         Richmond City Council increasing the General Fund contribution to the Richmond Public Schools Operating Budget by $5.5 million over what was proposed and reallocating an additional $4 million over what was proposed in Capital Funds to pay for school building maintenance. Of the monies, Richmond City Council budgeted $4,974,906 toward Richmond Public Schools Teacher Pay Decompression; $200,000 to re-open Richmond Public Schools Summer Hill/Ruffin Road Elementary School operations; and, an additional $347,346 for general Richmond Public Schools. Proposed Richmond General Fund contribution represent an estimated 54 percent of the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 Richmond Public Schools total General Fund budget.

  • Richmond City Council investment in the Richmond Department of Finance for additional staff to help collect delinquent tax revenue.

·         Richmond City Council keeping the Richmond Real Estate Tax at its lowest tax rate in 35 years, at $1.20 per $100 of assessed value and not increasing Richmond Meals Tax Rates.

·         Richmond City Council restored vacancy funding for the Richmond Police Department, Richmond Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and the Richmond Department of Social Services.

  • Richmond City Council helping to fix $750,000 in lost annual revenue by updating the Real Estate Tax collection process to include pro-rating the assessments of new construction so that, rather than at the end of the construction, projects would be assessed mid-year.

  • Richmond City Council preventing a proposed increase in the fee for business licenses for Richmond businesses making less than $100,000 a year in gross revenue.

  • Richmond City Council providing funding for needed flood mitigation efforts in Battery Park, overdue streetscape and sidewalk beautification efforts for a business park on Jefferson Davis Highway, and added $300,000 for completion of the new  T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Pedestrian Bridge. 

      Richmond City Council appreciates the cooperation of the Mayor and Administrative Staff for a successful budget review process and looks forward to this spirit of cooperation continuing.

     Richmond City Council appreciates the support of Council Staff, which includes the Office of the City Attorney, Office of the City Clerk, Office of the City Auditor, Office of the Assessor of Real Estate and Council Chief of Staff Office, for their outstanding dedication and hard work throughout this demanding and complex months-long review process.
                                                         
CONTACT    For more information, please contact: Steve Skinner, Council Public Information Manager, at 804.646.6052 (office); 804.937.1386 (mobile); or steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)

                   Richmond Residents are also invited and encouraged to contact the Richmond City Councilmember representing their Richmond Voter District, using the following contact information:

2016 Richmond City Council Councilmember/ Liaison Contact Information

Richmond West End 1st Voter District _______________________________

The Honorable Jonathan T. Baliles
Councilman, Richmond City Council
Richmond West End 1st Voter District
            804.646.5349 (tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            jonathan.baliles@richmondgov.com (email)

            Mr. Yueh Hai "Eli" Wong, Liaison for The Honorable Jonathan T. Baliles
            Richmond City Council, Richmond West End 1st Voter District
            804.646.5935 (tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            eli.wong@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond North Central 2nd Voter District __________________________

The Honorable Charles R. Samuels
Councilman, Richmond City Council
Richmond North Central 2nd Voter District
            804.646.6531 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            charles.samuels@richmondgov.com (email)

            Mr. Craig Bieber, Liaison for The Honorable Charles R. Samuels
            Richmond City Council, Richmond North Central 2nd Voter District
            804.646.6532 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            craig.bieber@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District ______________________________
     
The Honorable Chris A. Hilbert
Councilman, Richmond City Council
Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District
(Vice President of Richmond City Council)
            804.646.0070 (office tel)
            chris.hilbert@richmondgov.com (email)

            Ms. Lisa F. Townes, Liaison for The Honorable Chris A. Hilbert
            Richmond City Council, Richmond Northside 3rd Voter District Liaison
            804.646.6055 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            lisa.townes@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond Southwest 4th Voter District ______________________________
     
The Honorable Kathy Graziano
Councilwoman, Richmond City Council
Richmond Southwest 4th Voter District
            804.320.2454 (office tel)
            804.320.6030 (fax)
            kathy.graziano@richmondgov.com (email) 

            Mr. Tim Grimes, Liaison for The Honorable Kathy Graziano
            Richmond City Council, Richmond Southwest 4th Voter District
            804.320.2454 (tel)
            804.320.6030 (fax)
            timothy.grimes@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond Central 5th Voter District ________________________________
    
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto
Councilman, Richmond City Council
Richmond Central 5th Voter District
            804.646.6050 (tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com (email)

            Ms. Amy Robins, Liaison for The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto
            Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District
            804.646.5724 (tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            amy.robins@richmondgov.com

Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District ______________________________

The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson
Councilwoman, Richmond City Council
Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District
            804.646.5348 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            ellen.robertson@richmondgov.com (email)
                                                     
            Mr. Kiya Stokes, Liaison for The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson
            Richmond City Council, Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District
            804.646.7964 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            kiya.stokes@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond East End 7th Voter District _______________________________
   
The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille
Councilwoman, Richmond City Council
Richmond East End 7th Voter District
            804.646.5429 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            cynthia.newbille@richmondgov.com (email)

            Mr. Sam Patterson, Liaison for The Honorable Cynthia I. Newbille
            Richmond City Council, Richmond East End 7th Voter District
            804.646.3012 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            sam.patterson@richmondgov.com (email)

Richmond Southside 8th Voter District ______________________________
  
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell
Councilwoman, Richmond City Council
Richmond Southside 8th Voter District
            804.646.6592 (office tel)
            804.240.5050 (mobile tel)
            804.233.7382 (home)
            804.516.8067 (mobile tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            reva.trammell@richmondgov.com (email)

            Mr. Rick Bishop, Liaison for The Honorable Reva M. Trammell
            Richmond City Council, Richmond Southside 8th Voter District
            804.646.6591 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            richard.bishop@richmondgov.com (email) 

Richmond South Central 9th Voter District __________________________
     
The Honorable Michelle R. Mosby
Councilwoman, Richmond City Council
Richmond South Central 9th Voter District
(President of Richmond City Council)
            804.646.5497 (office tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            michelle.mosby@richmondgov.com (email) 
District Office Location: 4805 Forrest Hill Avenue; Richmond, Virginia

            Mr. Uzziah Anthony Harris, Liaison for The Honorable Michelle R. Mosby
            Richmond City Council, Richmond South Central 9th Voter District
            804.646.2779 (tel)
            804.646.5468 (fax)
            uzziah.harris@richmondgov.com (email)

Mailing Address
     
The Honorable _________
Councilwoman/Councilman
Richmond City Council
Full name of Richmond Voter District
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia  23219 U.S.A.

Background - Richmond Government Budget
As Richmond Residents, we pool our resources in order to own and operate our local government and decide what public services we want to invest in; the priority (investment levels) for these services; and, how we pay for them. Examples of our services include the management, oversight and delivery of such things as clean/safe water; streets/parks; laws; law enforcement/firefighting/rescue; trash/sewage removal; public transportation; and, our children’s education. Together, we own, operate, use and benefit from these services on a daily basis.
          
     Funding for our services and enforcement of laws comes from state, local and federal sources, including fees and taxes.  
          
     In order to set the investments levels we want for these services, Richmond City Council establishes an official annual Richmond Government Budget in May of each year for the upcoming Fiscal Year.

      The Richmond Government Budget is based on a Fiscal Year that runs July 1 to June 30 annually and the City operates on a two-year fiscal plan (Budget) that includes the Richmond General Fund, Richmond Capital Improvement Plan, Richmond Special Funds, Richmond Enterprise Funds, Richmond Internal Service Funds, the City Government contribution to Richmond Public Schools; and, additional state, federal, and other funds provided to Richmond Public Schools.

      The Richmond Government Budget is typically amended annually. Thus, every year a proposed (draft) Richmond Government Budget (Fiscal Plan) is submitted to Richmond City Council by the Mayor, who is responsible for administering local government services. Council then reviews, analyzes, amends and establishes an official Richmond Government Budget based on the priorities of Richmond Residents.
                     
     Richmond City Council budget deliberations begin each August and intensify the following year. They include more than two dozen public meetings, hearings and work sessions from August through May.

     The Richmond Government Budget takes the form of Ordinances that are approved by Richmond City Council each May for an upcoming Fiscal Year.

Richmond City Council

Mission
The mission of Richmond City Council is to represent citizens in creating and amending local laws, providing government policy and oversight, and approving the city budget.

Vision
Richmond City Council is committed to creating a vibrant community that is a great place to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.


- E N D -


Steve Skinner
Council Public Information Manager
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia  23219 U.S.A.
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
____________________________________________________

MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council is to
represent citizens in creating and amending local laws,
 providing government policy and oversight, and
approving the city budget.

VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place

to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.