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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Richmond City Council Budget Work Session – April 22, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, April 22, 2026

BodyRichmond, Virginia

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, April 22, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:18:42

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

30:11

Good afternoon, everyone.

30:14

Good afternoon, everyone.

30:16

The city council's budget work session will now come to order.

30:21

And Madam Clerk or Mr.

30:23

Clerk, if you would provide us with the emergency evacuation announcements.

30:31

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

30:36

Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the east or west stairwell outside the rear doors of the chamber.

30:42

Do not use elevators or escalators.

30:44

After exiting the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the assembly area located inside the former public safety building parking lot.

30:52

Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building.

30:58

Thank you, Mr.

30:58

Clark.

30:59

Mr.

31:00

Warren, our council chief of staff will provide the protocol for this meeting.

31:06

And then prior to our going into our discussion, Councilmember Trammell wanted to provide comment.

31:16

So do you want to Madam President?

31:20

I want to um I've been getting calls this morning.

31:24

People upset they saw something in the Times dispatch.

31:27

And I've already spoken to Parker, and it was definitely some confusion the other day with this cola, and it's no no fault of Samuel Parker, no fault of you, RJ, or but I want to I want to have it cleared up because I think we kept saying it was supposed to be a cola, but then it got printed that it was a bonus.

31:53

It is not a bonus, it is a cola.

31:56

So if you can please, because people are listening and the retirees, some of them in my district are very upset because they said not really saying I didn't tell the truth, but they said when I called him, I told him this was not a bonus, this was a cola.

32:11

So what this is, RJ uh Maine Police Council, RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff.

32:17

So what this is, there is a desire to find a long-term solution for establishing permanent colas that happen frequently, maybe even annually.

32:26

That needs to be addressed still with you know after this budget season.

32:30

So what we established the other day on Monday is instead of doing a forcing the issue of a cola to a permanent cola to happen that would require 10 years of payment on one cola, what we were doing is we were providing mem uh members of the Richmond Retirement System who are receiving benefits at this time, a one percent a one time payment, a bonus payment that is the equivalent of a one percent cola for this year.

33:00

So if we were to have approved an actual cola, it would have been for one percent and uh it would have been for forever, but we have to figure out how to finance that.

33:09

So right now, until we bridge that solution, what this is is a one-time payment in the amount of a one year one year's worth of a one percent cola.

33:19

So they are getting one percent more this year and their benefits than they did last year.

33:26

But we got to find a solution for next year.

33:29

Because we started out like a one point five, but then it went to one percent.

33:34

Yes, ma'am.

33:35

That's right.

33:35

But if we're gonna make it clear right now, this is not a bonus, this is a cola.

33:40

And we, as our the president of council said, we are going to bring that board here, and we're gonna have some discussion, and I mean some good discussion to find out how or to make have some solutions so we don't have to go through this every year, because like they said, it's been 16 years and it's not fair.

33:59

It's on top of my to it's on top of my to-do list.

34:02

This issue.

34:02

As of today, want everybody to hear this.

34:05

This is not a bonus.

34:07

This is a cola.

34:09

And we will go from here.

34:12

It is a one-time payment.

34:13

I have to clarify that.

34:14

We have to address it again.

34:16

But is that but next year it's not going to be a no bonus either.

34:18

We've got to go back and do back to the get the word bonus.

34:22

Forget that word bonus.

34:23

I don't want to hear that.

34:24

This is a cola.

34:25

Yes.

34:26

Thank you.

34:26

Thank you, Madam President.

34:29

Okay, so I I want to make sure we're absolutely clear.

34:35

This is a one time payment that is the equivalent.

34:39

One percent cola.

34:40

One time payment that is the equivalent.

34:42

We'll have to address it again next year.

34:43

That is correct.

34:44

Wait a minute, wouldn't you?

34:46

Okay.

34:47

So essentially, this is a it will be administered as a bonus equivalent to one percent.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████29%

Education Funding███████████████15%

Budget Equity Analysis██████████████14%

Personnel Matters████████████12%

Transparency and Oversight█████████9%

Youth Programs██████6%

Procedural██████6%

Transportation Safety█████5%

Disability Rights███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Richmond City Council Budget Work Session – April 22, 2026

This work session focused on finalizing amendments to the FY2026 city budget using the FY25 surplus and general fund allocations. Council members discussed salary adjustments, retiree payments, capital projects, and transparency measures, and reached consensus on several items. The meeting also included a presentation from the Richmond Public Schools superintendent on the Richmond Virtual Academy (RVA) and its funding.

Discussion Items

Retiree COLA Clarification: Council President Newbill and Chief of Staff Warren clarified that the one-time payment to Richmond Retirement System beneficiaries is the equivalent of a 1% COLA ($716,000 total), not a bonus. It is a one-time payment for this year only, and a permanent COLA solution must be addressed next year. Councilmember Trammell stressed that the word "bonus" should not be used.
Salary Adjustments for City Employees: The administration updated the cost of moving all scheduled January salary adjustments to July 1st (3.25% increase) from $961,000 to $1,296,692. This created a $113,092 gap after accounting for previously agreed allocations. Councilmember Lynch offered to remove her $125,000 request for a Clark Springs feasibility study to cover the gap, leaving $11,908 for additional allocation.
Allocation of Remaining Funds: Council agreed to allocate the remaining $11,908 to the Randolph Community Center for equipment replacement, as proposed by Councilmember Lynch.
Car Wash Budget and TJ High School Lights: Councilmember Breton proposed cutting $100,000 from the Fleet car wash budget (reducing it from $200,000 to $100,000) and redirecting the funds to the Richmond Education Fund to support matching grants for athletic training lights at Thomas Jefferson High School. The council reached consensus on this amendment.
Complete Streets Transparency: Councilmember Breton proposed breaking the $21 million Complete Streets line item into four subcategories (paving, sidewalks, CIP support, engineering/planning) to provide budget transparency. After discussion, CAO O'Donnell suggested providing a supplemental page in the budget book with the breakdown and a note that adjustments may occur. Council agreed to work with administration on this.
Uncertified Revenues and Surplus: Councilmembers Gibson, Lynch, and Breton raised questions about the $3.168 million remaining from the FY25 GAP grant program, originally funded with $3.9 million from recurring revenue. CAO Donald explained that the $12 million in additional revenue from reassessment was a one-time use of recurring funds, and the remaining $3.168 million is the unspent portion. Councilmember Gibson also requested an audit of whether the city budget aligns with the ordinance from November 2024. CAO Donald committed to providing written responses to outstanding questions.
Richmond Virtual Academy (RVA): Superintendent Jason Cameras reported that absent additional funding, RVA cannot continue. He assured council that all current RVA students (including 24.5% with disabilities) will be served in person in existing schools, and the homebound program will continue. The 22 licensed teachers will be placed in vacancies within RPS, realizing $3.2 million in savings. Councilmember Trammell expressed concern about the impact on vulnerable students, and Councilmember Gibson suggested the district could repurpose funding before cutting the program. The council did not restore RVA funding in this session.
Text Amendments: Council agreed to several text amendments, including: directing remaining GAP grant funds toward housing initiatives, fixing affordable housing trust fund language, striking the severance package language from the pay plan, and encumbering remaining funds for Ponticello Park improvements. Councilmember Robertson requested that performance standards with data (replacing "NA" and "TBD" entries) be provided by July 1st, based on 75% of the fiscal year. The transformation office committed to providing that data.

Key Outcomes

Consensus on Budget Amendments: Council approved the following package of amendments using the FY25 surplus and general fund:
- One-time payment equivalent to 1% COLA for retirees ($716,000)
- Salary adjustments moving all employees to July 1st (3.25% increase) – funded by removing Clark Springs funding ($125,000)
- $11,908 additional for Randolph Community Center
- $100,000 cut from car wash budget, redirected to Richmond Education Fund for TJ High School lights
- Additional positions: customer service rep (assessor's office), sustainability coordinator, assistant attorney, proactive investigator, PDR position for Richmond 300, and five inspectors for PDR (funded through application fees)
Ongoing Items: Council staff will work with the city attorney and administration to draft amendments for a procedural vote on Monday, April 27, 2026, with a public hearing and final vote scheduled for May 11, 2026.
Future Commitments: Council will continue discussions on permanent COLA for retirees, complete streets budget breakdown, and uncertified revenue analysis. The transformation office will provide performance measure data by July 1, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, everyone. The city council's budget work session will now come to order. And Madam Clerk or Mr. Clerk, if you would provide us with the emergency evacuation announcements. Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the east or west stairwell outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the assembly area located inside the former public safety building parking lot. Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Thank you, Mr. Clark. Mr. Warren, our council chief of staff will provide the protocol for this meeting. And then prior to our going into our discussion, Councilmember Trammell wanted to provide comment. So do you want to Madam President? I want to um I've been getting calls this morning. People upset they saw something in the Times dispatch. And I've already spoken to Parker, and it was definitely some confusion the other day with this cola, and it's no no fault of Samuel Parker, no fault of you, RJ, or but I want to I want to have it cleared up because I think we kept saying it was supposed to be a cola, but then it got printed that it was a bonus. It is not a bonus, it is a cola. So if you can please, because people are listening and the retirees, some of them in my district are very upset because they said not really saying I didn't tell the truth, but they said when I called him, I told him this was not a bonus, this was a cola. So what this is, RJ uh Maine Police Council, RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff. So what this is, there is a desire to find a long-term solution for establishing permanent colas that happen frequently, maybe even annually. That needs to be addressed still with you know after this budget season. So what we established the other day on Monday is instead of doing a forcing the issue of a cola to a permanent cola to happen that would require 10 years of payment on one cola, what we were doing is we were providing mem uh members of the Richmond Retirement System who are receiving benefits at this time, a one percent a one time payment, a bonus payment that is the equivalent of a one percent cola for this year. So if we were to have approved an actual cola, it would have been for one percent and uh it would have been for forever, but we have to figure out how to finance that. So right now, until we bridge that solution, what this is is a one-time payment in the amount of a one year one year's worth of a one percent cola. So they are getting one percent more this year and their benefits than they did last year. But we got to find a solution for next year. Because we started out like a one point five, but then it went to one percent. Yes, ma'am. That's right. But if we're gonna make it clear right now, this is not a bonus, this is a cola. And we, as our the president of council said, we are going to bring that board here, and we're gonna have some discussion, and I mean some good discussion to find out how or to make have some solutions so we don't have to go through this every year, because like they said, it's been 16 years and it's not fair. It's on top of my to it's on top of my to-do list. This issue. As of today, want everybody to hear this. This is not a bonus. This is a cola. And we will go from here. It is a one-time payment. I have to clarify that. We have to address it again. But is that but next year it's not going to be a no bonus either. We've got to go back and do back to the get the word bonus. Forget that word bonus. I don't want to hear that. This is a cola. Yes. Thank you.

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