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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Richmond City Council Budget Work Session - Operations & Mayoral Portfolios - March 25, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, March 25, 2026

BodyRichmond, Virginia

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, March 25, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:59:54

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:04

The Richmond City Council budget work session will now come to order.

0:09

Madam Clark, if you would provide the chamber emergency evacuation plan announcement.

0:15

Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building.

0:20

Please use the exits to the left, right, or front of the council chamber, or the east of West Daleware outside the rear doors of the chamber.

0:27

Now use elevators or escalators.

0:29

At the exit in the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the assembly area located inside the former safety building parking lot.

0:37

Able persons just visually inherent visitors with exiting the building.

0:42

Persons wishing to speak.

0:44

Oh, that's not it.

0:45

That's it.

0:47

Not quite that one, Madam Clerk.

0:51

Thank you.

0:52

Mr.

0:53

Warren, if you would provide an overview of the protocol for the work session, please.

0:59

Yes, may I please the council, RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff.

1:03

I'll be brief with this one.

1:05

On your uh docket today is um uh two portfolios.

1:10

The first being uh operations, and that will be facilitated by DCO Wiggins, and also the mayoral portfolio, uh, which will be facilitated by the mayor's chief of staff Lawson, we just are um in Mr.

1:25

Wiggins' portfolio, you have you know Alm Quay Air Control, Richmond Fire Department, Richmond Police Department, Department of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response, Department of General Services, Department of Parks, Recreation Community Facilities, and Department of Public Utilities, and Department of Public Works.

1:42

A large portfolio.

1:43

So if you look in your um budget book for today, um there's two presentations in there.

1:48

One that's going to be led up here by Mr.

1:51

Wiggins, and then a second one provided by the mayor's chief of staff, which addresses the three entities within the mayor's portfolio, which is the office of the mayor, the office of strategic communications, uh, and the office of intergovernmental affairs.

2:06

She will not be presenting up here just to preserve time.

2:10

The full 20 minutes we're giving to Mr.

2:12

Wiggins to present on operations.

2:14

However, when we go around and you have your five minutes to ask questions, you can ask questions to either of them at that time.

2:21

Uh to the mayor's chief of staff regarding the mayor's portfolio or Mr.

2:24

Wiggins regarding uh the operations.

2:26

The only thing I would ask is if you have several questions, um, let's say for Mr.

2:31

Wiggins, you ask his first, and then uh for their uh Ms.

2:35

We justoria, you ask her second just to prevent people from having to jump up and down.

2:40

Um we are going to uh go for a second round today of questions for five minutes uh as stated in SOPs.

2:47

I just asked when we get to that second round to try to be as concise and quick as you can uh out of respect for the for the day and the and the work the staff needs to do.

2:56

And um once again, please pay attention in the SOPs.

2:59

We have listed the predetermined order of questions, so you all know where you're at on there.

3:06

And um, I believe uh that is it.

3:09

I need to share with you just a friendly reminder that um I've uh informed y'all a few times, which is uh while I got the microphone, amendments are due two weeks from yesterday uh regarding this budget.

3:19

I will be available after this if you want to discuss that uh in further detail.

3:23

So thank you so much.

3:25

Thank you, Mr.

3:26

Warren.

3:27

With that, welcome DCAO Wiggins.

3:35

Well, good afternoon, President Noble, Vice President Jordan, and the stained members of the council.

3:40

I hear a little reverb.

3:41

Can you all hear me clearly?

3:44

Well, I appreciate the opportunity to present the proposed FY27 budget for the operations portfolio on behalf of Mayor Vula and CAO Donnell.

3:54

I've now been with the city for nearly six months, and during that time I've had the opportunity to engage with many of you.

4:01

I look forward to continuing continuing those conversations and to build building relationships with those council members that I have not yet had the chance to connect with.

4:11

I'm especially excited to oversee the operations portfolio.

4:15

As it closely reflects my professional experience over the past 23 years in both county and city government.

4:22

This work is deeply aligned with my background and delivering core services and managing complex high impact operations.

4:30

During my time here, I've had the opportunity to work closely with our department leaders.

4:35

I want to acknowledge that they have been incredibly welcoming and helpful as I've transitioned into this role.

4:43

I've also been genuinely impressed by their knowledge, professionalism, and commitment to service.

4:49

After 23 years in public service, I do not say that lightly.

5:03

I am proud to stand firmly behind the work of these teams.

5:07

They deliver critical services to our residents every day, often under challenging conditions, and they do so with professionalism, dedication, and a strong sense of public service.

5:19

Given both the limited time that we have today and the breadth of the departments within his portfolio, I will be providing a very high-level overview that focuses on key priorities, major investments, and overall service impacts.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████21%

Personnel Matters██████████████14%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%

Procedural█████████9%

Public Works████████8%

Transportation Safety████████8%

Fiscal Sustainability█████5%

Parks and Recreation████4%

Traffic Safety████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Richmond City Council Budget Work Session - Operations & Mayoral Portfolios - March 25, 2026

The Richmond City Council held a budget work session on March 25, 2026, to review the proposed FY27 budget for the operations portfolio (overseeing public safety, public works, parks, utilities, and core services) and the mayoral portfolio (Mayor's Office, Office of Strategic Communications, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs). DCAO Damon Wiggins presented the operations overview, and Mayor's Chief of Staff La'Tonia Lawson was available for questions on the mayoral portfolio. Council members discussed specific departmental budgets, staffing, public safety metrics, infrastructure investments, and community concerns.

Discussion Items

Operations Portfolio Presentation (DCAO Wiggins): Highlighted key accomplishments including: RFD graduating two recruit classes (achieving full staffing and reducing overtime); RPD reducing shootings to a 10-year low and homicides to a 7-year low (80% clearance rate); DPW paving 165 lane miles, installing 39 speed tables, 638 ADA ramps, filling over 10,000 potholes, and completing 2,300 LED streetlight conversions; and opening Fire Stations 12 and 21. The parks department was moved into operations to improve coordination, and the department's national ranking improved from 58th to 16th.
Budget Details:
- Richmond Animal Care & Control: Staffing flat; operations budget decreased $59,000 through internal promotions and reorganization.
- Richmond Fire Department: Slight staffing increase (5 positions from grants); operations decreased $820,000 via fleet management improvements.
- Richmond Police Department: $9 million increase with over 50 additional personnel (partly through civilianization); $2 million operating increase for body cameras, records management, and equipment. Over $8 million in grants received.
- Department of Emergency Communications: Decreases in personnel (-$600K) and operations (-$250K) due to completion of the multi-agency coordination center.
- Department of General Services: Slight personnel increase (3 FTEs) and operating increase from renegotiated janitorial/security contracts.
- Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities: $468,000 personnel increase (due to collective bargaining agreements); $172,000 operations decrease.
Councilmember Jones questioned the plan to increase out-of-school-time slots by 5% and requested a side-by-side of current vs. proposed offerings. DCAO Wiggins stated the focus is on existing programs through fee reductions.
Councilmember Abbacher inquired about a 23% decrease in parks CIP funding, an animal control officer position elimination (part of reorganization), and DPW special fund fluctuations (attributed to DGS separation). Also raised concerns about front-facing FTE reductions vs. internal increases; CAO Donald noted net only 3 new general fund positions and alignment of resources.
Councilmember Trammel asked about police recruitment (Chief Edwards reported 604 sworn officers against 750 authorized, with 28 in training, applications up 20%) and garbage truck leaks (Director Vincent acknowledged older trucks and improper disposal as causes, and committed to additional brooms). Also raised retiree COLA concerns (no increase in 16 years).
Vice President Jurgen sought clarity on fire department overtime (DCAO Wiggins explained mandatory overtime under FLSA) and DPU staffing reduction (positions outsourced to contractual services).
Councilman Breton focused on the new Department of Transportation (Director Baino highlighted community engagement division, quick-build projects, and use of operating vs. capital funds). Asked for granular spending transparency on safety projects; Director Vincent explained the special fund and CVTA allocations ($18M annually). Also questioned integration of DPU/DPW with 311 (DCAO Wiggins noted DPU added 20 customer service personnel but full integration requires system connections). Discussed RPD technology spending (LPR contract $371K; gunshot detection $167K) and speed enforcement (driven by prioritization, not budget).
Councilwoman Gibson asked about RPD's license plate reader costs ($371K for LPR, $167K for Raven audio), fire department CAFR overage ($4M – under investigation), DPU customer care specialists (21 positions outsourced to contractual services), vision zero revenue projections (FY26: $4.1M revenue, $1.6M expenses, net $2.5M surplus; projected year-end $3.4M surplus), and strategic communications positions (new FOIA support and social media support roles, budget neutral). Also questioned whether any filled positions were cut (CAO Donald answered no).
President Newbell followed up on DPU state funding ($40M requested, likely $20M) – DCAO Wiggins said no critical gaps, just project schedule adjustments. Also asked about sidewalk planning for new housing – DCAO Wiggins offered to coordinate with DCAO Ebert and Director Vincent.
Mayoral Portfolio: Ms. Lawson addressed questions on personnel realignments and the 1.1 million increase in the CAO's budget (due to centralizing training and salary increases). Director Catro explained reclassifications and new social media/FOIA positions.

Key Outcomes

No votes were taken; this was a budget work session for information and discussion.
Council members requested additional data on several items (e.g., out-of-school time side-by-side, fire CAFO overage details, DPU customer service structure, vision zero revenue projections, spending breakdowns from special funds).
Amendments are due two weeks from March 25, 2026 (i.e., April 8, 2026).
The next budget work session is scheduled for Monday, April 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM, covering CIP and human services (no OD meeting that day).
Council will have a break the following week (no session) to align with Richmond Public Schools spring break and allow time for amendment analysis.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. The Richmond City Council budget work session will now come to order. Madam Clark, if you would provide the chamber emergency evacuation plan announcement. Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left, right, or front of the council chamber, or the east of West Daleware outside the rear doors of the chamber. Now use elevators or escalators. At the exit in the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the assembly area located inside the former safety building parking lot. Able persons just visually inherent visitors with exiting the building. Persons wishing to speak. Oh, that's not it. That's it. Not quite that one, Madam Clerk. Thank you. Mr. Warren, if you would provide an overview of the protocol for the work session, please. Yes, may I please the council, RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff. I'll be brief with this one. On your uh docket today is um uh two portfolios. The first being uh operations, and that will be facilitated by DCO Wiggins, and also the mayoral portfolio, uh, which will be facilitated by the mayor's chief of staff Lawson, we just are um in Mr. Wiggins' portfolio, you have you know Alm Quay Air Control, Richmond Fire Department, Richmond Police Department, Department of Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response, Department of General Services, Department of Parks, Recreation Community Facilities, and Department of Public Utilities, and Department of Public Works. A large portfolio. So if you look in your um budget book for today, um there's two presentations in there. One that's going to be led up here by Mr. Wiggins, and then a second one provided by the mayor's chief of staff, which addresses the three entities within the mayor's portfolio, which is the office of the mayor, the office of strategic communications, uh, and the office of intergovernmental affairs. She will not be presenting up here just to preserve time. The full 20 minutes we're giving to Mr. Wiggins to present on operations. However, when we go around and you have your five minutes to ask questions, you can ask questions to either of them at that time. Uh to the mayor's chief of staff regarding the mayor's portfolio or Mr. Wiggins regarding uh the operations. The only thing I would ask is if you have several questions, um, let's say for Mr. Wiggins, you ask his first, and then uh for their uh Ms. We justoria, you ask her second just to prevent people from having to jump up and down. Um we are going to uh go for a second round today of questions for five minutes uh as stated in SOPs. I just asked when we get to that second round to try to be as concise and quick as you can uh out of respect for the for the day and the and the work the staff needs to do. And um once again, please pay attention in the SOPs. We have listed the predetermined order of questions, so you all know where you're at on there. And um, I believe uh that is it. I need to share with you just a friendly reminder that um I've uh informed y'all a few times, which is uh while I got the microphone, amendments are due two weeks from yesterday uh regarding this budget. I will be available after this if you want to discuss that uh in further detail. So thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Warren. With that, welcome DCAO Wiggins. Well, good afternoon, President Noble, Vice President Jordan, and the stained members of the council. I hear a little reverb. Can you all hear me clearly? Well, I appreciate the opportunity to present the proposed FY27 budget for the operations portfolio on behalf of Mayor Vula and CAO Donnell. I've now been with the city for nearly six months, and during that time I've had the opportunity to engage with many of you. I look forward to continuing continuing those conversations and to build building relationships with those council members that I have not yet had the chance to connect with.

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