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Governmental Operations Standing Committee

June 11, 2025 ·2:30 PM Final

Council Chamber, 2nd Floor - City Hall

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 71 items

  1. 1 Persons requesting to provide comments virtually during the public hearings or public comment period held at this meeting, must call the Office of the City Clerk at (804) 646-7955, option 3, by no later than 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
  2. 1 Committee and Other Council Members in Attendance
  3. 2 Call to Order
  4. 2 The Honorable Sarah Abubaker - Vice Chair The Honorable Kenya Gibson - Committee Member
  5. 3 Chamber Emergency Evacuation Plan Announcement and Public Speaker Guidelines
  6. 3 Absent
  7. 4 Public Comment Period
  8. 4 The Honorable Katherine Jordan - Chair
  9. 5 Approval of Minutes
  10. 5 Staff in Attendance
  11. 6 February 5, 2025 Governmental Operations Special Meeting Minutes CD.2025.189
  12. 6 Susan McKenney, Senior Assistant City Attorney Kimberly Morris, Assistant City Clerk William Perkins, Council Senior Legislative Services Manager Candice Reid, City Clerk
  13. 7 Presentation(s)
  14. 8 There were no presentations.
  15. 8 Vice Chair Sarah Abubaker called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m., and presided.
  16. 9 Paper(s) for Consideration
  17. 1. To amend City Code §§ 28-54, concerning deposits and refunds on gas and water utilities accounts, 28-57, concerning disconnection of gas, water and wastewater service for nonpayment of service charges and notice, and 28-58, gas service to residential customers billed under RS rate schedule, disconnection for nonpayment of gas, water and wastewater services for nonpayment and notice, all for the purpose of aligning the City Code with state law. ORD. 2025-134 recommended for approval
  18. 10 Upon the Chair’s request, Assistant City Clerk Kimberly Morris provided information on the appropriate manner in which the Council Chamber is to be evacuated in the event of an emergency along with public speaker guidelines.
  19. 2. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute an Agreement between the Virginia Department of Health and the City of Richmond for the purpose of facilitating the performance of public health services by the Richmond Henrico Health District. ORD. 2025-135 recommended for approval
  20. 3. To repeal City Code §§ 2-29, 2-31, 2-32, and 2-33, concerning the classifications of Council liaison, Council Policy Analyst, Council Budget Analyst, and the Council Public Relations Specialist, respectively, and to amend City Code § 2-30, concerning the Council Chief of Staff appointment and duties, for the purpose of providing for the appointment of employees in such classifications by the Council Chief of Staff. (As Amended) ORD. 2025-136 recommended for continuance
  21. 12 There were no public comment speakers.
  22. 4. To amend and reordain City Code § 21-4, concerning definitions related to public procurement, and to amend ch. 21, art. II, by adding therein new section 21-75, concerning reverse auctioning, authorized by Va. Code § 2.2-4303(I). ORD. 2025-137 recommended for approval
  23. 5. To amend City Code § 2-1204, concerning the residency of certain officers and employees, to modify the City’s residency requirement for certain officers and employees. (As Amended) ORD. 2025-138 recommended for approval
  24. 14 There were no amendments or corrections to the following meeting minutes, and the committee approved the minutes as presented.
  25. 15 page break
  26. 16 Board Vacancies
  27. 17 There were no board vacancies.
  28. 18 Discussion Item(s)
  29. 18 Agenda Amendment
  30. 19 There were no discussion items.
  31. 19 Vice Chair Sarah Abubaker moved to amend the agenda to continue the following ordinance to the July 23, 2025 Governmental Operations Standing Committee meeting:
  32. 20 Staff Report
  33. 21 The motion was seconded and approved: Ayes 2, Abubaker, Gibson. Noes None.
  34. 23 The following ordinance was considered:
  35. 25 Scott Morris, Director of Public Utilities, provided an introduction of the proposed ordinance, stating that the legislation would align city law with the House Bill (HB) 904 approved by the state legislature.
  36. 26 Member Kenya Gibson asked what was the change in policy regarding how deposits and refunds were handled.
  37. 27 Director Morris stated the section that had modifications related to disconnections of water, wastewater and gas.
  38. 28 Ms. Gibson asked would the modified policy go into effect on July 1, 2025, and were there any internal protocols to execute the new regulations.
  39. 29 Director Morris stated the policy would go into effect July 1, 2025, and no disconnections were being implemented at that time.
  40. 30 Member Gibson asked if a citizen had a delinquent bill, how could they move forward when the disconnection of service program was implemented.
  41. 31 Director Morris stated there were several payment options and suggested citizens enroll in the city's Promise Pay program.
  42. 32 Public Hearing
  43. 33 There were no public hearing speakers.
  44. 34 There were no further comments or discussions, and Member Kenya Gibson moved to forward ORD. 2025-134 to Council with a recommendation to approve, which was seconded and approved: Ayes 2, Gibson and Abubaker. Noes 0.
  45. 35 The following ordinance was considered:
  46. 37 Dominic Barrett, Senior Policy Advisor for Human Services, provided an introduction to the proposed ordinance.
  47. 38 Public Hearing
  48. 39 There were no public hearing speakers.
  49. 40 Member Kenya Gibson asked if there were any changes in the ordinance compared to prior years.
  50. 41 Mr. Barrett stated only the governing body language was changed.
  51. 42 There were no futher comments or discussions, and Member Kenya Gibson moved to forward ORD. 2025-135 to Council with a recommendation to approve, which was seconded approved: Ayes 2, Gibson and Abubaker. Noes, 0.
  52. 43 The following ordinance was considered:
  53. 45 Rene Almaraz, Director of Procurement Services, gave information and provided an introduction and background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  54. 46 Public Hearing
  55. 47 There were no public hearing speakers.
  56. 48 Member Kenya Gibson asked were there any other localities that used reverse auctioning, and what other services the city would be able to procure using this approach.
  57. 49 Director Almaraz stated his focus was the use of paper and the reduction of the costs.
  58. 50 There were no further comments or discussions, and Member Gibson moved to forward ORD. 2025-137 to Council with a recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  59. 51 The following ordinance was considered:
  60. 53 Vice Chair Sarah Abubaker and Member Kenya Gibson provided an introduction and background information regarding the proposed ordinance. Vice Chair Abubaker stated a four page memo from the Mayor's administration responding to the ordinance was sent to Council members.
  61. 54 page break
  62. 55 Public Hearing
  63. 56 Sharon Ebert, Interim Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), addressed the committee and spoke in opposition of Ord. 2025-138. She stated City Council and Administration were striving for the same results and suggested to consider geography since other jurisdiction boundaries were close and the city could remain competitive with Chesterfield and Henrico counties.
  64. 57 Tyrome Alexander, Director of Human Resources (HR), addressed the committee in reference to opposition of Ord. 2025-138. He stated other jurisdictions had less mandates relating to where executives reside, and the ordinance would disqualify executives with ties to Richmond. He also stated the city should ensure strong recruitment and retention to avoid turn over risk.
  65. 58 Vice Chair Sarah Abubaker and Member Kenya Gibson addressed the following key points regarding Ord. 2025-138:
  66. 59 • Living and working in the city made for better civil servants • The ordinance would lend flexibility to accommodate family care giving constraints • Executive salaries over $180,000 should be brought back to city tax rolls • The culture in City Hall had a chance to transform based on the ordinance • The possibility would be there to win public trust
  67. 60 There were no further comments or discussions, and Member Kenya Gibson moved to forward ORD. 2025-138 to Council with a recommendation to approve, which was seconded approved: Ayes 2, Gibson and Abubaker. Noes, 0.
  68. 62 There were no discussion items.
  69. 66 Council staff provided the committee with the June Governmental Operations Standing Committee staff report.
  70. 67 Adjournment
  71. 68 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:11 p.m.