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Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee

November 21, 2024 ·1:00 PM Final

Council Chamber, 2nd Floor – City Hall

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 113 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 Thursday, November 21, 2024.
  2. 1 Committee Members in Attendance
  3. 2 Call to Order
  4. 2 The Honorable Cynthia Newbille – Chair The Honorable Ellen Robertson – Vice Chair (late arrival) The Honorable Katherine Jordan – Member
  5. 3 Chamber Emergency Evacuation Plan Announcement and Public Speaker Guidelines
  6. 3 Staff in Attendance
  7. 4 Public Comment Period
  8. 4 Tori Cotman, Assistant City Attorney LaTanja Davenport, Council Budget Analyst Nahdiyah Muhammad, Assistant City Clerk Candice Reid, City Clerk RJ Warren, Deputy City Clerk
  9. 5 Approval of Minutes
  10. 6 September 19, 2024 - Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2024.300
  11. 6 Chair Cynthia Newbille called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m., and presided.
  12. 7 October 10, 2024 - Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2024.345
  13. 8 Paper(s) for Consideration
  14. 8 Upon the Chair’s request, Assistant City Clerk Nahdiyah Muhammad 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.
  15. 1. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond to execute a Cooperation Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond for the purpose of providing grants to small businesses in the city of Richmond. ORD. 2024-284 recommended for approval
  16. 2. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $1,312,900.00 from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and to amend Ord. No. 2024-099, adopted May 13, 2024, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Stormwater Utility Budget and appropriated the estimated receipts of the stormwater utility, by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the stormwater utility by $1,312,900.00 for the purpose of funding the Pine Camp Safety Project and Stream Rehabilitation. ORD. 2024-285 recommended for approval
  17. 10 There were no public comment speakers.
  18. 3. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $500,000.00 from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, to amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by creating a new special fund for the Department of Planning and Development Review called the “Valentine DHR Historic Preservation Grant Special Fund,” and to appropriate the increase to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Planning and Development Review’s “Valentine DHR Historic Preservation Grant Special Fund” by $500,000.00, for the purpose of funding the Valentine Collections Care and Access Capital project. ORD. 2024-296 recommended for approval
  19. 4. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute an Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of implementing a Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program. ORD. 2024-297 recommended for approval
  20. 12 There were no amendments or corrections to the meeting minutes of September 19, 2024 and October 10, 2024, and the committee approved the minutes as presented.
  21. 5. To amend Ord. No. 2024-099, adopted May 13, 2024, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget and made appropriations pursuant thereto, by (i) transferring $300,000.00 from the National Opioid Settlement Special Fund for the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, (ii) creating a new special fund for the City Sheriff called the “Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program Special Fund,” and (iii) appropriating $300,000.00 of the transferred funds to the Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program Special Fund, all for the purpose of funding the implementation of a Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program. ORD. 2024-298 recommended for approval
  22. 6. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $125,000.00 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services; to amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by creating a new special fund for the Department of Justice Services called “Help Me Help You Program Special Fund;” and to appropriate the increase to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Justice Services’ Help Me Help You Program Special Fund by $125,000.00, for the purpose of funding the implementation of the Help Me Help You Program. ORD. 2024-299 recommended for approval
  23. 7. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $950,000.00 from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, to amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by creating a new special fund for the Department of Planning and Development Review called the “JXN Project DHR Historic Preservation Grant Special Fund”, and to appropriate the increase to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Department of Planning and Development Review’s “JXN Project DHR Historic Preservation Grant Special Fund” by $950,000.00, for the purpose of funding the JXN Skipwith-Roper Homecoming project. ORD. 2024-300 recommended for approval
  24. 8. To (i) amend Ord. No. 2021-291, adopted Oct. 25, 2021, which authorized the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept the first tranche of American Rescue Plan Act funds in the amount of $77,439,914.00 from the United States Department of the Treasury and amended the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 General Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the General Fund Budget for certain agencies and reserves for contingencies by $35,639,914.00, by transferring a portion of such $35,639,914.00 in the amount of $60,000.00 from the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, formerly known as the Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services; and (ii) amend Ord. No. 2024-099, adopted May 13, 2024, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 General Fund Budget and made appropriations pursuant thereto, by creating certain new line items in the Non-Departmental agency and the amount appropriated to such new line items in the Non-Departmental agency by $60,000.00, all for the purpose of providing grants to expand access to early childhood care and education programs. ORD. 2024-301 recommended for approval
  25. 16 The following ordinance was considered:
  26. 9. To amend Ord. No. 2024-099, adopted May 13, 2024, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 General Fund Budget and made appropriations thereto, by transferring $80,342.95 from the Non-Departmental agency line item ARPA - HCD - St. Joseph’s Villa - Youth Outreach and $245,174.86 from the Non-Departmental agency line item ARPA - HCD - Commonwealth Catholic Charities - Inclement Weather Shelter Operations and appropriating the transferred funds in the total amount of $325,517.81 to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the purpose of funding affordable housing initiatives. ORD. 2024-302 recommended for approval
  27. 10. To amend Ord. No. 2022-099, adopted Apr. 11, 2022, which amended Ord. No. 2021-099, adopted May 24, 2021, to create certain new line items in the Non-Departmental agency, transfer $1,283,288.00 from the Department of Housing and Community Development, and appropriate such $1,283,288.00 to the new line items in the Non-Departmental agency, all for the purpose of providing grants to certain entities for the provision of housing-related services, to recapture funds in the amount of $80,342.95 from Saint Joseph’s Villa; to amend Ord. No. 2022-104, adopted Apr. 25, 2022, as previously amended by Ord. No. 2022-243, adopted Sept. 12, 2022, and Ord. No. 2023-086, adopted Mar. 27, 2023, which authorized the Chief Administrative Officer to issue grants, loans, or a combination thereof from the City’s 1st Tranche of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds to certain entities in designated amounts and to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City, to execute all necessary documents to effect such issuance for the purpose of financing the construction and preservation of single-family and multifamily dwellings, to recapture funds in the amount of $250,000.00 from the Better Housing Coalition; and to amend Ord. No. 2023-180, adopted Jun. 26, 2023, which authorized the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept the second tranche of American Rescue Plan Act funds in the amount of $10,000,000.00 from the United States Department of the Treasury and amended the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 General Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the General Fund Budget for certain agencies by $8,000,000.00 of the $10,000,000.00 of ARPA funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development for the purpose of funding the City’s efforts to recover from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to recapture funds in the amount of $245,174.86 from Commonwealth Catholic Charities and funds in the amount of $500,000.00 from Planet Zero Residences, LLC, all for the purpose of expanding affordable housing initiatives. ORD. 2024-303 recommended for approval
  28. 18 Patricia Foster, Director for the Office of Minority Business Development, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  29. 11. To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to issue grants, loans, or a combination thereof from the City’s first and second Tranches of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds to certain entities in designated amounts and to authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City, to execute all necessary documents to effect such issuance for the purpose of financing the construction and preservation of single-family and multifamily dwellings. ORD. 2024-304 recommended for approval
  30. 19 Public Hearing
  31. 12. To authorize the Chief Administration Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to accept funds in the amount of $150,000.00 from the United States Conference of Mayors, and to amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by creating a new special fund for the Office of Community Wealth Building called the “S.O.L.V.E. Academy Program Special Fund,” and to appropriate the increase to the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Special Fund Budget by increasing estimated revenues and the amount appropriated to the Office of Community Wealth Building’s “S.O.L.V.E. Academy Program Special Fund” by $150,000.00, for the purpose of funding a Strategic Opportunities Leading to Valuable Experiences Academy program. ORD. 2024-305 recommended for approval
  32. 20 There were no public hearing speakers.
  33. 21 Presentation(s)
  34. 21 Member Katherine Jordan asked if businesses will be able to find additional information regarding the grants referenced in the proposed ordinance.
  35. 22 There were no presentations.
  36. 22 Ms. Foster stated that the Office of Minority Business Development is working on finalizing the components that will allow businesses to find additional information on how to apply for the grants.
  37. 23 Board Vacancies
  38. 23 There were no further comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-284 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and approved: Ayes 2, Jordan, Newbille. Noes None. Vice Chair Ellen Robertson had not yet arrived.
  39. 24 There were no board vacancies.
  40. 24 Vice Chair Ellen Robertson arrived at 1:05 p.m., and was seated.
  41. 25 Discussion Item(s)
  42. 25 The following ordinance was considered:
  43. 26 Department of Finance Updates
  44. 27 ARPA Update
  45. 27 Bill Boston, Department of Public Utilities Program Manager for Storm Water Utility, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  46. 28 Staff Report
  47. 28 Public Hearing
  48. 29 November 21, 2024 - Finance and Economic Development Staff Report CD.2024.361
  49. 29 There were no public hearing speakers.
  50. 30 There were no comments or discussions and Vice Chair Ellen Robertson moved to forward ORD. 2024-285 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  51. 31 The following ordinance was considered:
  52. 33 Kimberly Chen, Senior Manager for the Department of Planning and Development Review, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  53. 34 Public Hearing
  54. 35 There were no public hearing speakers.
  55. 36 There were no comments or discussions and Vice Chair Ellen Robertson moved to forward ORD. 2024-296 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  56. 37 The following ordinance was considered:
  57. 39 Kimberly Chen, Senior Manager for Planning and Development Review, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  58. 40 Public Hearing
  59. 41 There were no public hearing speakers.
  60. 42 Chair Cynthia Newbille asked if the proposed ordinance would lead to the completion of the project, or if additional funding would be needed.
  61. 43 Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, Executive Director for The JXN Project, stated that 85% of the project funding has been provided by the city and that the remaining 15% will be provided from other funding sources.
  62. 44 There were no further comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-300 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  63. 45 The following ordinances were considered:
  64. 48 Michael Fatula, Policy Advisor for the Opioid Response Coordination, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinances.
  65. 49 Public Hearing
  66. 50 There were no public hearing speakers.
  67. 51 Chair Cynthia Newbille and Vice Chair Ellen Robertson stated their support for the proposed ordinances and thanked city administration for the continued work to combat the opioid crisis.
  68. 52 Vice Chair Ellen Robertson requested to be added as a co-patron of ORD. 2024-297 and ORD. 2024-298.
  69. 53 Member Katherine Jordan asked about how much of the settlement the city has received from the National Opioid Settlement Fund.
  70. 54 Mr. Fatula stated that the city currently has $1.2 million appropriated in October 2024. Mr. Fatula also stated that an additional ordinance will be introduced to appropriate $1.6 million from the settlement fund, and that allocations from the fund will increase or decrease each year until 2039.
  71. 55 Chair Newbille requested projections regarding the amount allocated to the city from the settlement fund.
  72. 56 There were no further comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-297 and ORD. 2024-298 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  73. 57 The following ordinance was considered:
  74. 59 Rhonda Gilmer, Deputy Director for Justice Services, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  75. 60 Public Hearing
  76. 61 Dream addressed the committee and stated that she will need additional information before she can provide her comments to the committee.
  77. 62 There were no further comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-299 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  78. 63 The following ordinance was considered:
  79. 65 Dominic Barrett, Strategic Projects and Grants Advisor for the Office of Human Services, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinance.
  80. 66 Public Hearing
  81. 67 There were no public hearing speakers.
  82. 68 There were no comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-301 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  83. 69 The following ordinances were considered:
  84. 73 Merrick Malone, Interim Director of Housing and Community Development, provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinances.
  85. 74 Public Hearing
  86. 75 There were no public hearing speakers.
  87. 76 Vice Chair Ellen Robertson asked for a timeline of funding obligations to projects referenced in the proposed ordinances.
  88. 77 Mr. Malone stated that all funding allocated is secured and will be used for the projects addressed in the proposed ordinance.
  89. 78 There were no further comments or discussions and Vice Chair Ellen Robertson moved to forward ORD. 2024-302, ORD. 2024-303 and ORD. 2024-304 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  90. 79 The following ordinance was considered:
  91. 81 Caprichia Spellman, Director of the Office of Community Wealth Building (OCWB), provided an introduction and additional background information regarding the proposed ordinances.
  92. 82 Public Hearing
  93. 83 There were no public hearing speakers.
  94. 84 Chair Cynthia Newbille asked how many participants the program will be able fund.
  95. 85 Ms. Spellman stated that the program will be able to fund 50 participants. Ms. Spellman also stated that each participant will work 25 hours per week, at $20 per hour, for six weeks.
  96. 86 There were no further comments or discussions and Member Katherine Jordan moved to forward ORD. 2024-305 to Council with the recommendation to approve, which was seconded and unanimously approved.
  97. 93 Shelia White, Director of Finance, provided the committee updates within the Finance Department.
  98. 94 Ms. White introduced Jamie Atkinson to the committee as the new Director of Revenue Administration for the Finance Department.
  99. 95 Ms. White introduced Thomasena Gadson to the committee as the new Deputy Director for the Finance Department.
  100. 96 Vice Chair Ellen Robertson requested for the committee to be provided a handout of reports and updates from the Finance Department. Vice Chair Robertson also requested additional information regarding business, meals, real estate and delinquent taxes. Vice Chair Robertson further requested an organizational chart and job descriptions of positions in the department.
  101. 97 Chair Cynthia Newbille stated that due to heavy work load in the department, that outsourcing to different departments would be beneficial in helping clear their active cases.
  102. 98 Vice Chair Robertson requested a meeting with Ms. White to further discuss the Department of Finance and city revenue.
  103. 99 Ms. White further discussed Finance Department updates with the committee.
  104. 101 Meghan Brown, Director of Budget and Strategic Planning, provided the committee with an update regarding ARPA funds.
  105. 102 November 21, 2024 - ARPA Update Handout CD.2024.366
  106. 103 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  107. 104 Chair Cynthia Newbille asked the amount of unobligated funds remaining in ARPA.
  108. 105 Ms. Brown stated that the funding has been committed and has not become obligated to any specific project, but that obligations will be made by required deadlines.
  109. 106 Ms. Brown further discussed ARPA funding with the committee.
  110. 108 Council staff provided the committee with the November Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee staff report.
  111. 110 A copy of material provided has been filed.
  112. 111 Adjournment
  113. 112 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:11 p.m.