Today, the City of Richmond released responsive records under the Freedom of Information Act related to the recently proposed solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).  

My administration continues to support the goal of increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing long-term energy costs and saving taxpayer dollars, and advancing our commitment to a more sustainable and resilient built environment.  

In the course of working towards that goal, some of our internal processes and systems, like those related to outside employment disclosures and addressing personnel matters, did not work the way I expect them to.  

While the records released today point us towards the improvements we must—and have already started to—make, they do require additional context on two specific matters:  

1. The employee submitted the Outside Employment Form as part of the onboarding process. That form was sent to the employee’s personnel file as part of the standard onboarding process. It was not reviewed or signed by a supervisor or other administrator. Without the required review and signature, the City does not consider it an active Outside Employment Form. 
    
2. Among the records is a document "Confidential: City of Richmond Office of Sustainability ” (DO_June2026-Redacted.pdf). The accuracy of the document is under review. Additionally, neither Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Ebert nor Human Resources Director Martin were aware of the document until October 2026.  

I’ve been clear that my approach is to look for problems, find them, and fix them. Whether we uncover problems ourselves or they’re brought to our attention by others, we will not shy away from addressing them.  

That work is already underway. 

Effective November 1, the Outside Employment Form will be fully removed from the automated onboarding workflow. Those disclosures will be handled through a separate review process. 

I’m thankful for our team, who has continued to address gaps and improve processes to support our more than 4,000 City employees. 

Thank you Councilmember Jones, for your passion, your commitment, and your leadership on this particular policy issue.  

I’m incredibly grateful for the partnership we’ve had on this effort 

President Newbille, thank you for all of your work getting behind this and support the work of really building trust in our communities.  

Thank you, City Council, for the for the unanimous support for the resolution.  

When I took office, I made a commitment that Richmond would be a city where every resident feels welcome, valued, and safe. 

As an immigrant, these values are deeply personal to me. My early years in this country were filled with experiences where I didn’t feel welcomed or I was outright mocked misunderstood or just made constantly “other”. 

So much so, that I actively ran away from my Indian heritage, and rejected anything that highlighted the ways that I did not fit in.   

But in adulthood, I have come to appreciate the value and the beauty of my culture, and the ways that my heritage really are so important such as the ways that my heritage and that of all of our residents contribute to the beauty and the diversity of our society. 
 

These values -- that every resident, and especially our immigrant and refugee populations, feel safe, valued and accepted, and I would say one step further - that they actually feel celebrated- were priorities identified by our transition team as I was beginning my time in office, and have only intensified with the federal administration’s focus on our immigrant communities. 

This last year has made it incredibly clear that immigrant safety is a huge priority here in Richmond, and in local communities across the country.   

In January, I established an Inclusive Communities Preparedness Work Group to identify practical, concrete steps that we could take to protect residents, strengthen trust, and make sure our City government was prepared to respond to the challenges facing our immigrant neighbors.  

The Work Group identified the development of a trust policy as one important step we could take toward fulfilling that commitment. 

Over the past several months, our administration has worked closely with community partners, City departments, and Councilmember Jones and her leadership to develop a policy that reflects Richmond's values and can be implemented responsibly and effectively. 

Developing a policy like this requires more than a commitment to our values.  

It requires careful legal analysis and operational planning, lots of coordination across departments and deep, meaningful engagement with the people in the community that we serve.  

I want to thank our entire team for the many months of work that have brought us to this point. 

I want to reiterate that, at its core, this policy is about trust.  

Specifically, making sure that every Richmond resident, regardless of immigration status, can access City services without fear.  

That we protect people's privacy, that we establish clear boundaries around the City's role in federal civil immigration enforcement, and that we make sure our employees understand their responsibilities.  

And, it’s about sending a clear message to our immigrant neighbors that you are part of this community, and your local government is here to serve you. 

What does this policy change? Simply put, it brings more clarity and accountability. 

For City employees it gives them clear guidance about what their responsibilities are and how to respond when situations arise that could undermine the trust of our immigrant communities. 

For residents, it communicates clarity about what they can expect from their local government. And lets them know that their personal information will be protected. That our Richmond Police Department will not act as immigration enforcement officers. That City resources will not be used to assist federal civil immigration enforcement. 

That no one should be threatened or pressured because of their immigration status. 

And that every resident is welcome to access City services, and can hold us accountable to these commitments. 

And as President Newbille said, today's announcement is not the end of this work. It's an important first step as we launch this policy. 

Because a policy is only as meaningful as our ability to put it into practice.  

That means training our 4,000+ employees and establishing clear procedures, and continuing to listen to our community partners, and doing everything we can within our authority to protect the safety of our residents, -- earning and keeping their trust. 

My goal is to have this policy fully implemented by the end of the year, and we're going to continue listening, learning, and working together to make sure Richmond is a city where everyone feels they belong. A thriving and inclusive Richmond is Pillar 5 of our administration, and that is what we are working toward here.  

To our immigrant neighbors, know that you are a loved and cherished part of our community.  Your presence in this City is part of what makes Richmond so vibrant and special, and we seek to celebrate and highlight the rich culture that all of our neighbors bring to Richmond. 

And now I'd like to turn it over to our DCAO of Human Services, Amy Popovich, who will walk through what the policy does and the steps we're taking to make sure it is implemented effectively. 

A Thriving Richmond 

Mayor Avula applauded the jointly-sponsored RES. 2026-R038, endorsing the City of Richmond’s legislative agenda for the 2027 Virginia General Assembly session. The resolution sets forth legislative proposals and requests the Richmond delegation to the General Assembly “to take legislative action consistent with and in vigorous support of such recommendations; to support other legislative action recommendations; and to encourage other organizations and individuals to support such recommendations.”  

 "My administration and City Council are committed to advocating for our residents' together and maximizing what we can accomplish in partnership with the Commonwealth,” said Mayor Danny Avula . “In the past, Richmond often had a divided agenda. Today, we’re moving forward with a clear set of priorities that reflect what our residents need and deserve.” The resolution identifies budget and legislative priorities and the City’s policies positions for the coming 2027 General Assembly session.  

Thriving City Hall 

Council also voted 7-2 to support Mayor Avula’s ORD. 2026-081to establish an updated approach for publishing the City’s payment register to promote transparency and accountability of public funds. Earlier this year, Mayor Avula proposed the ordinance to establish an updated approach to publishing the City’s payment register, with the goal of increasing public access to payment data while ensuring the system is practical, accurate, and compliant with privacy laws. The Avula administration is committed to maximum transparency, especially when it comes to City expenditures, while honoring individuals’ legitimate privacy concerns and data security protocols. 

“I’m extremely proud of our team for working through a long-standing, inherited, and very complicated pain point and finding a path forward that provides proactive public access to the City’s spending data,” said Mayor Avula. 

Publication had been suspended prior to Mayor Avula’s administration. In June, the City published the FY25 payment register. The FY26 Payment Register will be available on the City’s Open Data Portal by December 27, 2026 in accordance with the 90-day implementation period established in the ordinance. Additionally, the monthly publication of the register, starting with July, August, and September 2026, will be available on the Open Data Portal by the end of calendar year 2026.  

Thriving Families 

 A series of ordinances introduced by Mayor Avula were adopted to support Richmond families experiencing financial hardship and housing instability.  

ORD. 2026-282 provides $700,000 to Area Congregations Together in Services (ACTS) to administer the City’s Family Crisis Fund, an initiative which provides emergency financial assistance to families in need. The ordinances also extend an agreement with HomeAgain to continue operating a 50-bed, year-round emergency shelter for families through November 30, 2027.    

Thanks, Chief. Good morning, everybody. 

Thanks for being here for RPD's third-quarter crime briefing. 

Today, Chief Edwards is going to walk through the crime statistics year-to-date through the third quarter. After that, I'll talk about my recent decision not to renew the Flock LPR contract, and then the Chief and I will take questions. 

While every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and there's no “good” number that's not zero, the City is making remarkable progress in reducing homicides. 

Chief Edwards is going to share some very encouraging news about what's happening in Richmond. We're seeing all the right trends in our homicide rates, nonfatal shootings, and robberies. 

But we have more work to do. 

And while the Richmond Police Department continues to be successful in adding new recruits to every academy, the fact of the matter is that we're still operating with just over 600 officers, though we have an authorized police force of 755 to serve the city. 

You'll get a much more detailed analysis from Chief Edwards, but what he will share with you today is that the City of Richmond is seeing very, very good progress. 

I want to thank Chief Edwards, Deputy Chiefs Collier and El-Amin, and every single member of the Richmond Police Department for their incredible efforts, along with our Richmond residents who regularly work with law enforcement to help keep our community safe. 

Following Chief Edwards' Presentation  

Thank you, Chief. 

These numbers are remarkable. We are seeing historic lows in violent crime that we haven't seen in well over a decade. And we're doing it with a police force that, as I mentioned, is running above 600 officers, with an authorized force of 755. 

How are we doing it? 

We’re doing it because of good police work — good, creative, data-driven police work. 

We're doing it through growing our relationships with communities. The community policing approach is yielding wonderful results. 

And we're doing it through (the use of) technology. 

And that's why we have to be really thoughtful along the way about the way technology is integrated into the work. 

Obviously, the news of this past week has been around our use of Flock, so I want to touch on that announcement I made over the weekend. 

As I shared on Saturday, I made the decision not to renew the City's automatic license plate reader contract with Flock when it expires on June 30. 

I know that some people have asked why we're not ending the contract immediately, just like Henrico has decided to do. 

I can't speak to Henrico and the processes that went into its decision, but what I do know is that their contract was up in the next couple of weeks, and so they had to come to a decision point much sooner than we have to. 

We have more time because our Flock contract expires in June. I want to make sure we're using that time to listen well, to make thoughtful, community-informed decisions about the future of the technology in Richmond, and I also want to be clear with the public about what has changed for me. 

I have consistently approached this issue through a risk-benefit lens. 

I often talk about how, as a public health physician, every one of these decisions is looking at the risks versus the benefits and figuring out how we balance those well, and ultimately make sure that we're providing a net benefit to our community. 

What we have heard increasingly is both the public safety benefits as well as growing concerns about privacy and potential misuse. We’ve seen examples around the country. 

And I need to say that both of those points are valid. 

The surveillance concerns are valid. We take them seriously.  

But we also take seriously the responsibility that I have to listen to Richmonders and respond to their concerns. 

At the same time, I meet with the Chief every single week. We're diving into data together. We're hearing about the challenges the force is facing. 

And I absolutely trust his expertise and his judgment in using the technology responsibly, as well as his commitment to ensuring that the appropriate safeguards are in place and enforced. 

Now, what has changed? 

One, the significant expansion of community concern. 

And two, the decisions by our regional partners that affect how useful the technology can be to us. 

We've heard from many residents at City Council meetings, and those voices certainly matter. 

But we also need to hear from the people whose lives have been disproportionately impacted by crime and who may not be showing up at those meetings. 

RPD and our neighborhood engagement team will be co-leading and listening through engagement sessions across the city. 

And these will be conversations with residents, not media events. 

Our goal in those will be reaching voices that we haven't captured in a systematic way. 

And ultimately, these will be an opportunity to align our community vision with public safety expertise so that we can come together and actually achieve our collective goals for public safety across the city. 

I also want to clarify that Saturday's decision is specifically about license plate readers, not the gunshot detection technology. 

And we'll make sure that we're asking those questions and continuing to listen to residents about both during these next few weeks and months. 

We have not made a decision about whether another vendor will replace Flock. That is part of the work ahead, part of the listening work that we are embarking on. 

But my commitment is to make a thoughtful, well-informed decision that reflects the needs and the concerns of our community. 

And I'm always, always, always grateful to residents who speak up, who let me know what their concerns are. I expect them to continue doing so. 

That is the essence of our democracy. 

And my commitment, ultimately, in this role is to continuo to listen well and to seek out the voices of those who are marginalized and don't always get heard. 

And we're going to take our time to get this decision right.

Transcribed from Mayor Danny Avula's remarks at RPD’s 3rd Quarter Crime Briefing on October 13, 2026 by Copilot, reviewed and lightly edited for accuracy by a member of the Office of Strategic Communications  

Hey Richmond, It’s your mayor, Danny.  
  
I want to update you on something I know a lot of Richmonders care deeply about: the City’s use of automatic license plate reader technology, particularly our relationship with Flock.  
  
Last month, I promised that we would begin to reevaluate the City’s use of ALPR technology generally, and of Flock, the City’s vendor, specifically. I encourage you to go watch that video, and you can find the link in the description below.  
  
Today, I am announcing that the City will not move forward with the Flock ALPR contract when it’s up for renewal.  
  
This past Tuesday, Henrico County announced that they’ll also begin reevaluating their use of ALPR and have decided to move away from Flock. Now that Henrico has decided to end their contract with Flock, it clarifies the picture for me because Flock, specifically, is now less useful as a tool. Crime doesn’t stop and start at the City-County line, and part of what makes this technology a useful crime-solving tool, is our ability to work together with our regional partners. I’m encouraged to see that the region is joining us in grappling with this issue, an issue that is clearly so important to so many residents.  
  
However, the commitment I made to you all last month was to listen well and make a full, community-informed decision about the City’s use of ALPR technology.  
  
My team has started putting engagement sessions together so that we can hear from Richmonders whose lives have been impacted by violence and who want us to do everything we can to keep them safe, as well as Richmonders who are concerned about how the technology could be misused, particularly those who have experienced disproportionate policing, or have fears about that.  
  
Lastly, the General Assembly will be taking up issues related to license plate reader technology this session, and that work will be incredibly helpful in charting a path forward here in Richmond and across the Commonwealth.  
  
I’ll continue to pay attention to the deliberations and decisions that will come from our state-level leadership and ensure we’re responsive.  
  
So, while I've made a decision about the Flock contract, we have more work to do to ensure we’ve heard from residents who care deeply about this issue.  
  
As we move forward in this work, I promise to keep you updated on this topic. Thanks, Richmond.