OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

May Government Operations Standing Committee Meeting - May 27, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, May 27, 2026
BodyRichmond, Virginia
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, May 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:04
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Hello everyone, thank you so much for being present for the May Government Operations Stand Committee.

0:08

Madam Clerk, can you please read the announcements?

0:14

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

0:19

Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or south stairwells outside the rear doors of the chamber.

0:26

Do not use elevators or escalators.

0:29

After exiting the building, security would direct everyone down 9th Street to the fenced area located between Clay and Lee Streets.

0:36

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

0:41

Public speaker guidelines.

0:43

Individuals wishing to speak during public hearings in the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak.

0:48

Persons appearing before the committee are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties or address the question staff members directly.

1:06

All questions are to be directed to the committee chair.

1:09

Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barn from attendance at future meetings of the committee for a period of six months.

1:21

Madam Chair, this concludes the announcements.

1:24

And all members are in attendance today with the exception of Ms.

1:27

Abbacher, and you do have a quorum.

1:29

Thank you so much.

1:30

If we could move on to public comment, please.

1:32

Public comment is now open.

1:33

Is there anyone present who wishes to address this committee regarding items not on today's agenda?

1:39

Madam Chair, seeing none and no one signed up to speak virtually before the 10 a.m.

1:43

deadline.

1:44

The public comment period is now closed and back to the committee.

1:47

Wonderful.

1:48

Looks like we have some minutes to approve.

1:50

The minutes to be approved are for October 22nd, 2025, held at 1 p.m., November 12th, 2025, held at 2 p.m.

1:58

and February 25th, 2026, held at 1 p.m.

2:01

for the governmental operations standing committee meeting.

2:04

If there are no amendments or corrections, then the many minutes, the meeting minutes will stand approved as presented.

2:11

Those minutes have been approved.

2:13

Thank you.

2:14

Okay, wonderful.

2:15

I believe we have a presentation by our director of sustainability.

2:19

Ms.

2:19

Thomas, thank you so much for being here or your representative.

2:26

Hello, good afternoon.

2:28

I'll be providing the report today.

2:30

My name is Tara Warden.

2:31

I'm the sustainability manager in the Office of Sustainability.

2:35

We have two topics to cover in this.

2:38

One is more so related to the disposable plastic bag tax and the third quarter revenue findings.

2:46

And RBA Green 2050, a quick update on where we are on the implementation of that.

3:00

So for the plastic bag tax.

3:04

Tried to answer all the questions that were provided to staff through this, and I'll note what we couldn't find in our in our reconnaissance.

3:12

The five cent tax went live in January this year.

3:17

It applies to grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies.

3:22

The bag tax is split, four cents goes to the city, one cent is provided to the retailer.

3:27

It's remitted on a monthly basis to the Virginia Department of Taxation.

3:33

That tax is sent back to the city basically on like an eight-week delay.

3:39

So the findings that we have are a little bit, they lag quite a bit.

4:09

From October to December, our staff were out in the community visiting businesses and conducting pop-ups at community events.

4:17

We gave array around 5,000 bags to date, or we have given away that many bags to date.

4:23

We have distributed bags to all of the community centers.

4:28

So if you are, if you have a constituent that is inquiring on where to receive a free reusable bag.

4:33

They can pick one up at any of the open community centers.

4:40

The media campaign that we conducted to advertise that this was coming out, included a number of ad buys through BizSense, paid social advis on Facebook, Instagram next door, a paid podcast that was geofenced, and then we had some media interviews with VPM, Urban One, NCBS 6 Virginia this morning.

4:59

We also conducted our own marketing campaigns on our Instagrams, RVA Green2050.

5:13

Our staff creative staff developed a ghillie suit made out of 500 plastic bags that we use to do some guerrilla style marketing of the of the bag tax coming online.

5:27

We had fun with it.

5:29

From the revenues that we've received so far, you can see that January was a very low number.

5:36

We were anticipating around $30,000 on average.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural█████████████████████████████29%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Energy Efficiency█████████9%
Water And Wastewater Management████████8%
Personnel Matters████4%
Public Engagement██2%
Public Safety█1%
Fiscal Sustainability█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Government Operations Standing Committee Meeting – May 27, 2026

The Government Operations Standing Committee of the Richmond City Council met on May 27, 2026 at 9:30 AM. Chair Jordan presided with Member Gibson present; Member Abbacher was absent. The committee approved prior meeting minutes, heard a presentation from the Office of Sustainability, considered four ordinances, and acted on multiple board and commission appointments.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes from October 22, 2025 (1:00 PM), November 12, 2025 (2:00 PM), and February 25, 2026 (1:00 PM) were approved as presented with no amendments.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public comment period on items not on the agenda.
  • Public hearings were held for each ordinance; no speakers appeared in support or opposition for any of the four items.

Discussion Items

  • Office of Sustainability Presentation – Sustainability Manager Tara Warden and Director Laura Thomas provided updates:

    • Disposable Plastic Bag Tax: The 5-cent tax took effect January 2026, applying to grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies. Revenue is split 4 cents to the city, 1 cent to the retailer. Through Q3 (January–March 2026), the city has received just over $75,000, with 1.9 million bags taxed. January revenue was low (~$185), but February and March saw increases. A media campaign included ads on BizSense, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, a geofenced podcast, and interviews with VPM, Urban One, NBC12, and Virginia This Morning. Over 5,000 reusable bags have been distributed via community centers. Funds are restricted to waste reduction, recycling education, and related programs. A live revenue tracker is being developed.
    • RVA Green 2050 Update: 83% of plan strategies are underway; 17% not yet started. The next GHG inventory will begin in 2027. Notable initiatives: East End Solar Meadow (permitting), energy efficiency program (approved by council, framework due October 2026), Cool This City (1,300+ trees planted, 900 residents engaged, 46 agroforestry certificates), and a $50,000 Bloomberg Youth Climate Action Fund grant for youth microgrants. The city received a $2 million EPA SWIFR grant rejection but noted continued federal funding opportunities.
    • Energy burden in Richmond averages 6% of income, up to 13% in some areas. The office is partnering with DPU and HCD on an energy efficiency program and hiring an energy efficiency coordinator.

  • Ordinance 2026-076 – Erosion/Stormwater Program Amendments (Presented by Lee Crowell, DPU):

    • Seeks to add administrative civil penalties to existing city code sections for erosion/sediment control, pretreatment violations, and illicit discharges. Currently, enforcement requires judicial action, which is resource-prohibitive; no cases have been sent through the City Attorney’s office. The change would align with state law and allow DPU to issue penalties via regular mail (instead of registered/certified). Revenue would go to the stormwater fund. Committee voted unanimously to forward to council with recommendation of approval.

  • Ordinance 2026-089 – Snow Removal from Sidewalks (Sponsored by Chair Jordan):

    • Replaces potential misdemeanor charges with civil penalties. Clarifies that for multifamily properties (3+ units), the owner is responsible. Provides exemptions for persons with physical disabilities or age 65+. Penalties may be waived during declared emergencies. Director Bobby Benson of Public Works expressed support, noting proactive sanding/salting by residents helps. Committee noted that no fines have been issued in recent years. Unanimously forwarded to council.

  • Ordinance 2026-091 – Public Utilities and Services Commission Amendments (Sponsored by Chair Jordan):

    • Eliminates the requirement for five standing subcommittees (water, stormwater, wastewater, solid waste, natural gas). Redefines quorum to a majority of appointed members (vacancies not counted). Intended to improve efficiency. Unanimously forwarded.

  • Ordinance 2026-116 – Sister Cities Commission Codification (Presented by Councilmember Will Perkins on behalf of Councilmember Jones):

    • Codifies the previously resolution-based commission into city code. Changes appointment structure: Mayor appoints 2 of 13 members (previously all 13 appointed by council). Current members roll over. Committee discussed transparency around costs and travel. Unanimously forwarded with recommendation to continue considering vacancies pending adoption.

Key Outcomes

  • Votes: All four ordinances were recommended for approval unanimously (3-0 votes with two members present and voting).
  • Board/Commission Appointments:
    • Central Virginia Waste Management Authority: Joy Shaw (1st District) appointed as alternate.
    • City Personnel Board: Reappointments of Betty Burrell (9th District) and Linda Jackson Shaw (3rd District); appointment of Glenda Cooper (3rd District); continued consideration of Rosario Miller due to recent Behavioral Health Authority appointment.
    • Clean City Commission: Teresa Ash (9th District) appointed.
    • Public Utilities and Services Commission: Ryan Duckett (7th District) and Andrew Crakey (3rd District) appointed based on commission recommendation.
    • Sister Cities Commission: Vacancies continued to July 22 meeting pending adoption of ordinance.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for June 24, 2026, with presentations on DPU customer information system and Office of Elections update.

Meeting Transcript

Hello everyone, thank you so much for being present for the May Government Operations Stand Committee. Madam Clerk, can you please read the 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 north or south stairwells outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the building, security would direct everyone down 9th Street to the fenced area located between Clay and Lee Streets. Able persons should assist visually in hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Public speaker guidelines. Individuals wishing to speak during public hearings in the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before the committee are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties or address the question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the committee chair. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barn from attendance at future meetings of the committee for a period of six months. Madam Chair, this concludes the announcements. And all members are in attendance today with the exception of Ms. Abbacher, and you do have a quorum. Thank you so much. If we could move on to public comment, please. Public comment is now open. Is there anyone present who wishes to address this committee regarding items not on today's agenda? Madam Chair, seeing none and no one signed up to speak virtually before the 10 a.m. deadline. The public comment period is now closed and back to the committee. Wonderful. Looks like we have some minutes to approve. The minutes to be approved are for October 22nd, 2025, held at 1 p.m., November 12th, 2025, held at 2 p.m. and February 25th, 2026, held at 1 p.m. for the governmental operations standing committee meeting. If there are no amendments or corrections, then the many minutes, the meeting minutes will stand approved as presented. Those minutes have been approved. Thank you. Okay, wonderful. I believe we have a presentation by our director of sustainability. Ms. Thomas, thank you so much for being here or your representative. Hello, good afternoon. I'll be providing the report today. My name is Tara Warden. I'm the sustainability manager in the Office of Sustainability. We have two topics to cover in this. One is more so related to the disposable plastic bag tax and the third quarter revenue findings. And RBA Green 2050, a quick update on where we are on the implementation of that. So for the plastic bag tax. Tried to answer all the questions that were provided to staff through this, and I'll note what we couldn't find in our in our reconnaissance. The five cent tax went live in January this year. It applies to grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies. The bag tax is split, four cents goes to the city, one cent is provided to the retailer. It's remitted on a monthly basis to the Virginia Department of Taxation. That tax is sent back to the city basically on like an eight-week delay. So the findings that we have are a little bit, they lag quite a bit. From October to December, our staff were out in the community visiting businesses and conducting pop-ups at community events.

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