Good afternoon President Newbille, Vice President Jordan, and honorable members of the City Council.
I’d like to thank the dedicated public servants who contributed to this work, and who have joined me here today.
To residents who have joined us here in person or are watching from home, thank you for actively engaging the work of your local government.
I am excited to present the proposed FY 2027 Budget for your consideration this afternoon.
This year’s budget was developed in a more constrained environment than usual — with both the pause in real estate assessments, and the uncertainty we face around federal funding streams.
I want to start with the issue we have been most focused on over the last year — and the issue I believe ultimately led people to vote me into this office: the operations of local government.
When people talk about what they want from their city government, they often talk about the big issues — housing affordability, safety, schools, economic opportunity.
To deliver on those priorities, they are also asking for something more foundational: a government that works. A government— that is competent, transparent, responsive, and worthy of the public’s trust.
That’s why the first pillar of the Mayoral Action Plan focuses on transforming Richmond’s local government into a model public-sector organization — one that stewards resources effectively, meets community needs, and earns the trust of residents.
Over the past year, we have been doing the work required to strengthen the foundation of city government. We brought in new, experienced leadership including a new Chief Administrative Officer, 3 new deputy CAOs, and 10 new directors. We launched a comprehensive assessment of city operations, including CAO Donald’s 100-day review, and began implementing improvements across the organization.
We’ve also done the work to strengthen the relationship between our new administration and council.
And I think we’ve made great strides in that regard! Together, we’ve created new rhythms and ways of operating that have served our residents well, and will continue to grow their faith in us as the leaders of their city.
After last year’s budget cycle, we quickly assembled a team of administration and council members to analyze the process and make improvements for this year. We moved the budget introduction date earlier to provide you all more time. We ramped up public engagement with a series of budget town halls. We redesigned the Council budget work sessions around DCAO portfolios.
Most importantly, we have spent time discussing the ways we together wanted to fund housing affordability, support frontline workers, invest in public safety, reduce gun violence, increase accountability around how we distribute funds to non-profits, and look for ways to spend less so that we can work towards lowering the tax burden on our residents.
I have worked to ensure your priorities, our shared priorities, are reflected clearly in my proposal. And we’ll reconvene again after budget adoption to continue to improve the process.
And I really believe this hard, intentional work is paying off! Look at what we accomplished together on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund legislation. We took a well-intended policy that was great in concept, but difficult to execute, and we figured out how to actually implement it.
This is a model of how we must work together for the good of our city—pairing good policy with good implementation—it’s how we all succeed in delivering for our residents.
And that’s why I want to start with the pillar we have been most engaged in during my first year in this seat— the operations of local government.
Pillar 1
DPU
After last January’s water crisis, we’ve spent the last year overhauling the Department of Public Utilities. We went and found an experienced leader to take the helm, and Scott Morris immediately identified gaps in expertise and technical knowledge that have now been filled with a total of 6 professional engineers across the department.
I have spent the last couple of months sharing this department’s transformation with our partners across the street, and thanks to the advocacy of our state delegation and the increasing confidence in our operation, the recently introduced budgets had commitments of $50M for our combined stormwater overflow system, and $20M for our water treatment plant—when the prior Governor’s introduced budget had $0 committed to either of those needs.
Procurement
In our procurement department, we’ve saved taxpayers millions of dollars through both best practices and innovative new procurement processes like the City’s first-ever reverse auction.
We’ve expanded our engagement with the public, launching a public procurement transparency dashboard and hosted targeted outreach events to regional businesses and suppliers.
And we’ve fully staffed our internal compliance team to ensure that all of our procurement activities meet regulatory mandates.
We’re about to roll out a comprehensive procurement training program to all departments. And, finally, Procurement has completed almost all of the p-card audit recommendations and is preparing to execute A CONTROLLED relaunch of the program.
Rene Almaraz, phenomenal work to your whole team.
311
Our Citizen Service & Response department (aka 311) has continued its focus on delivering top notch customer service.
They have worked with multiple City departments to build better SOPs and improve interdepartmental communications. They have done an incredible amount of training, and they are piloting new technology so every resident gets faster, clearer, more transparent service than ever before.
Every week, I receive emails or phone messages from constituents who had had such positive experiences with 311 that they were compelled to reach out to me. And I’ve made a habit of reading some of those constituent letters at our weekly cabinet meetings as a reminder that this slow, hard, culture changing work is making a difference to our residents.
We will always have more work to do, but we are making clear and tangible progress, and I’m grateful —especially on this 3-1-1 Day— to Pete Breil and the whole CSR team for their amazing commitment to serving customers well.
Auditor
You have heard me share our mantra in City Hall at this podium numerous times this year— Look for it, find it, fix it.
It is the ethos we are embracing, and we are thankful to our constituents, and to you all on council for continually identifying opportunities for growth.
We are also extremely grateful for the City Auditor and his team for the role they have played in helping us modernize internal systems, strengthen oversight, and improve accountability.
We have used recent audit findings to inform major transformation efforts, and to prioritize initiatives in this proposed budget. For example, we are revamping the nondepartmental budget process, something that has been a dream of mine for almost 15 years, from the time that I served on the nondepartmental review committee when I was at the health department. You’ll also see the auditor’s recommendations show up in our investments in protective gear for law enforcement officers and our new Affordable Housing Trust Fund investments.
Each successive quarter, we close out more and more audit findings—52 over the last two periods—and we’re committed to keeping that momentum going in the years to come
Thank you so much CAO Donald for leading the charge on that
Comms
Perhaps the thing I receive the most feedback about, is the marked improvement in our Communications.
• “Hey, Richmond” our e-newsletter has over 10,000 subscribers and a better than 50% open rate
• We’re leveraging various social media platforms multiple times a day, both as a tool to understand where our community is at, and to give them a window into what their city government is doing
• We’re telling our stories more authentically, responding to residents quicker, and doing a much better job at keeping our communities informed
All of this great work happens, because we’re investing in systems and people, and it’s why this budget continues to prioritize investments in the operation:
My proposed budget includes $263.5M of investments into the engine that drives this whole operation —the city workforce , including a $22.1 million increase from FY26 to fulfill the commitments we made in our collective bargaining agreements.
Our workforce — the people who pave the streets, keep our water running, answer emergency calls, maintain our parks, and pick up our trash— they are the backbone of local government. Our commitment to them is essential to building the high-performing organization we’ve outlined in in Pillar One.
I’m grateful to all of our labor partners, many of whom are here to stand with me on this budget proposal.
The proposed budget provides raises for police, fire, and other union-represented employees beginning July 2026, along with equivalent adjustments for non-union employees performing the same work. For other employees, the budget delays a 3% cost of living adjustment until January 2027, a responsible step in the current fiscal climate.
I absolutely believe we must continue investing in the people who keep this city running. Last year, I supported a cost-of-living adjustment for all employees, and that philosophy has not changed. We’re competing for talent with the region, the state, and the private sector and we must be competitive to deliver the results residents deserve. But given the more constrained fiscal environment we’re facing this year, my approach allows us to honor our commitments while maintaining the financial stability that Richmond residents expect.
We also asked departments to take a hard look at their own operations.
All of our departments were asked to identify potential 2 percent reductions from their FY26 operating budgets.
We used that information to identify approximately $4 million that we could trim from the operation while mitigating impacts to service delivery, and redirect that to other priorities.
These kinds of disciplined decisions are part of building a government that is both effective and fiscally responsible.
And they allow us to focus our resources on the priorities residents care about most — starting with the places we call home.
Pillar 2
Pillar 2 ensures that every neighborhood in our city is a place where people can live safely, find opportunity, and remain rooted even as our city grows.
If Richmond is going to truly thrive, we have to create more homes for more people, and more ways for families to stay in the neighborhoods they love
This means building new housing AND preserving existing homes
Thanks to the great work we did together on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund ordinance, we now have a predictable, sustained and IMPLEMENTABLE funding stream for affordable housing. The formula we’ve created together allots a proposed $11.7 million this year for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
In addition to the AHTF, the proposed budget includes $1.8 million in Affordable Housing Performance Grants to ensure long-term affordability for new housing that has come on line.
But creating thriving neighborhoods is also about making sure long-time residents aren’t pushed out as our city grows.
That’s why this budget continues key anti-displacement strategies — including $10.1 million to help families stay in the homes and neighborhoods they love.
Public Housing
The budget also continues to drive the work of redeveloping public housing in a way that keeps residents at the center of the process
I said a lot about improving our local government operation, and while it is our #1 priority, Public Housing redevelopment is 1a. The deep concentration of poverty and subsequent disinvestment for decades has caused harm to generations of families, and we need to address that with a sense of urgency. The federal funding strategy for public housing has changed, which means we must drive redevelopment locally
We also have seen a growing body of evidence from 30 years of longitudinal study on the impacts of public housing that show that mixed income neighborhoods have life changing impacts for low income neighbors, particularly for children. I truly believe this is the most transformational thing any of us can do for Richmond.
This budget includes $1.6 million to advance the next phase of Creighton Court and $450,000 to support the transformation of Gilpin Court , which will fund resident engagement, whole-family case management, and transition planning.
Pillar 3
Pillar Three focuses on thriving families — supporting the education, health, and development of children so that every young person in Richmond is prepared for the future.
Over the last decade, we have made significant investments in our school system, and they are paying off! This past year, RPS delivered the highest graduation rates in 20 years for both black students and for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
We have to keep investing in our school system—we have a moral obligation to invest in the future generations of our city, and the stronger our school system is, the more kids and their families will be compelled to invest here and stay here.
My budget proposes $257 million for Richmond Public Schools, almost a quarter of the general fund, and an $8.2 million increase over FY26
In addition, RPS has critical infrastructure needs, and we wanted to get them capital resources right away, so we have front-loaded RPS a $9.3 million capital maintenance request in the CIP for FY27.
Additionally, we are committed to supporting learners and their families across the continuum, and my budget proposes nearly $3 million to support childcare, after school programming for middle school, and out-of-school time opportunities for youth.
Pillar 4
Supporting thriving families also means ensuring that Richmond’s economy creates opportunity for the next generation.
When residents have access to stable jobs, strong local businesses, and real pathways to build wealth, families and neighborhoods are able to thrive.
That is the focus of Pillar Four of the Mayoral Action Plan: Thriving Economies.
This pillar focuses on supporting small and minority-owned businesses, strengthening employers that provide living-wage jobs, and creating clear pathways for residents to move from poverty to stability — and ultimately to wealth building.
The FY27 proposed budget invests more than $5 million toward these goals.
And these investments reflect something we know to be true about Richmond: our economy is powered not only by large-scale projects, but by the small businesses, neighborhood corridors, artists, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit partners who bring life and identity to our city.
Closing
Over the past year, we have made real progress. But the work of building a city government that residents respect and trust does not happen overnight.
It requires discipline, sustained investment, and a shared commitment to getting better year after year.
And that commitment matters because the decisions we make today shape the future of our city.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, Richmond occupies a unique place in the American story.
In 1607, the same year Jamestown was founded, Christopher Newport traveled up the James River and planted a cross on the hill where Richmond now stands — land that had been home to Indigenous peoples for centuries.
Not long after, Patrick Henry stood in St. John’s Church and declared, “Give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, even as those words echoed through history, thousands of Africans were trafficked through this city, and by the mid-1800s Richmond had become one of the largest slave trading centers in America.
In many ways, Richmond reflects the central paradox of our nation’s story — the gap between the ideals we proclaim and the realities we have had to confront.
As we mark this 250th anniversary, we have the opportunity to tell those stories honestly — and to ask what kind of Richmond, and what kind of America, we want to build for the next 250 years.
In many ways, the work reflected in this budget is part of that ongoing story — strengthening neighborhoods, expanding opportunity, supporting families, and building a city government worthy of the trust of the people it serves.
This work is not just about balancing a budget.
It is about shaping the future of our city — making sure Richmond is a place where every child can grow up safe, every family can build a life, and every neighborhood can thrive.
That is what it means to build a city that works, a city that thrives.
I’m grateful for your partnership and look forward to working with each of you in the weeks ahead. Thank you.
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