Mayor Levar M. Stoney today marked the first day of Teacher Appreciation Week by announcing a new partnership between the Richmond Fire Department and Richmond Public Schools to offer CPR certification to RPS teachers free of charge. 

The partnership is the result of a proposal by the Mayor’s Teacher Advisory Council (MTAC), a group of RPS teachers who provide insight into what attracts teachers to Richmond and what will keep them living and working here. The Virginia Department of Education requires all individuals applying for or renewing teacher licenses to be certified in CPR, which can cost as much as $150 per course. 

Mayor Stoney worked with Chief Melvin Carter of the Richmond Fire Department and Superintendent Jason Kamras of Richmond Public Schools to formalize a partnership that will allow RPS teachers to sign up for free training courses to be held monthly at RFD headquarters beginning in June. 

“Our teachers give selflessly of their love, time, talent, energy and resources,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m pleased that collaboration across city agencies will allow us to alleviate this cost burden and further support our educators.” 

“Being able to respond swiftly in an emergency is a critical part of keeping our city safe,” said Fire Chief Melvin Carter. “The Richmond Fire Department is proud to be able to offer this life-saving training to the teachers who work so hard on behalf of our children.” 

“This is a great benefit for our teachers and we’re so grateful to the mayor and Chief Carter for making this happen,” said RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras. “It’s just another example of how we all get smarter when we listen to our teachers.” 

For more information please contact licensure specialist, Deborah Dailey at ddailey@rvaschools.net.
 

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced the appointment of Leonard Sledge as the city’s next director of Economic Development.

Sledge brings more than 13 years of experience in economic development to the position. Throughout his career, he has led construction, renovation and retention projects for universities and municipal governments.He has served as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Hampton and for the College of William and Mary. Most recently, Sledge served as the executive director of the Henry County Development Authority, which serves the southeast portion of the Atlanta metro region.

Sledge earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Morehouse College and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix. In 2019, he was named one of North America’s top 50 economic developers by Consultant Connect.
“The City of Richmond is growing and we need to make sure we pursue development that not only expands our tax base, but is community-oriented and expands opportunity for all of our residents,” said Mayor Stoney. “Leonard’s background in local government and his record of informed, principled decision-making indicate he’s the right person for the job.”

As the Director of Economic Development, Sledge will oversee the economic growth of the city, including business retention and attraction, real estate development and redevelopment, and small business development and support. He will oversee the administration of the City’s Enterprise and Opportunity Zones, as well as several economic development loan programs. He will report directly to Sharon Ebert, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic and Community Development. “I’m excited for the opportunity to work with this talented city team, civic-minded stakeholders and the community to help Richmond realize its economic development potential and move the city forward,” said Sledge.

“Mike Herring has been an outstanding Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond who has served the residents of our city with dedication and distinction for 13 years.

Mike’s keen and progressive legal mind, fairness and commitment to justice, both inside and outside the courtroom, has made Richmond a safer and more equitable place to live.

We will miss Commonwealth’s Attorney Herring’s steady and principled leadership in this critical law enforcement role, and I join the residents of the City of Richmond in honoring his public service and in wishing him well in the next chapter of his professional life.”

The City of Richmond has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). 

“This is another mark of achievement in our efforts to maintain the highest levels of fiscal responsibility in Richmond,” said Mayor Stoney. “I congratulate our Department of Budget & Strategic Planning for this significant achievement.” The award represents a significant achievement by the city’s Department of Budget & Strategic Planning. Richmond had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation to receive this award. These guidelines are designed to assess how well the city’s budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device. Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories, and in fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories.

“I am very proud of our budget staff,” said Richmond Budget Director Jay Brown. “This recognition affirms the commitment we have to best practices.”

The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA's website. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Questions concerning this GFOA award can be directed to Michael Nixon-Garrison at (804) 646-7922 or by email: michael.nixon-garrison@richmondgov.com
 

City nearing 400 retimed signalized intersections~

RICHMOND, Va – The city continues to ramp up its retiming of traffic signals.  Work begins Monday, February 4 to retime 147 more. These improvements will increase pedestrian safety on our major arterials citywide at more than 390 signalized intersections. The work during this phase includes intersections west of Belvidere (VCU, Fan, Museum District and West End). 

The project is part of an initiative that began one year ago and included the retiming of 71 intersections in the Southside, 17 in the Northside, and 179 in the Downtown Area.  It is part of a comprehensive plan to deploy low cost, systemic pedestrian safety improvements at signalized intersections through 2020. These improvements include: high visibility crosswalks, accessible ramps, pedestrian countdown signals and improved signal timings. 

The project aligns with the city’s participation in the Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to reduce crashes resulting in serious injuries and death for all transportation users through updated traffic signal timings. Additional benefits of new timing plans include improving pedestrian safety and multi-modal mobility, decreased wear on motor vehicles, as well as improved gas mileage by reducing the number of stops and starts. Environmental benefits include the reduction of vehicle emissions such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and volatile organic compounds. 

Richmond is working on the project in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Richmond Regional Planning Organization (RRTPO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The city is leveraging state and federal funding sources to implement this important timing project as part of an overall $3.5 million initiative to improve pedestrian safety through funding from the FHWA and VDOT's Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and $800,000 funded throughout the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program from RRTPO.

Due to the changes in some traffic signal operations, all transportation users are encouraged to be alert as they become accustomed to the new traffic patterns.  Each corridor takes several weeks to fine tune before the pattern is finalized.