Richmond Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee Meeting – June 17, 2026

The Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee of the Richmond City Council met on June 17, 2026, at approximately 2:00 PM. The committee considered multiple ordinances and resolutions, including a continuation of an item related to public payment registers, approval of grant funding for historic cemeteries, opioid abatement, park improvements, tree maintenance, recovery court support, procurement policy updates, and a commercial tax abatement extension. A major presentation was given on the overhaul of the city’s Purchasing Card (PCard) program, followed by extensive discussion on audit findings, controls, and future expansion metrics.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Item 2 (Historic African American Cemetery Grant): Kimberly Jackson, Community Engagement Manager for Cemeteries with Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities, spoke in support, requesting acceptance of $69,920 in state funding for preservation and reclamation activities.
• Item 6 (Investigation into Payment Register Publication): Amante Gonzalo, a resident of the 6th district, voiced support for Resolution 2026-R019, arguing the city should investigate its failure to publish a monthly payment register before considering lowering transparency standards. He cited the city’s “City of Darkness Award” from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock as evidence of FOIA system deficiencies.
• No other public testimony was offered for any agenda item.

Consent Calendar

• Item 1 – Ordinance 2026-081: Continued to the July 15, 2026, meeting (motion approved unanimously).
• Item 2 – Ordinance 2026-130: Authorized acceptance of $69,920 from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for African American cemetery preservation; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Item 3 – Ordinance 2026-131: Authorized acceptance of $611,807.50 from the National Opioid Settlement Fund for opioid abatement strategies; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Item 4 – Ordinance 2026-132: Authorized acceptance of $1,000,000 from the National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund for Broad Rock Creek Park improvements; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Item 5 – Ordinance 2026-133: Authorized a right-of-entry agreement with Capital Trees for tree improvements at three parks; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Item 7 – Ordinance 2026-148: Authorized acceptance of $150,000 from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for the Richmond Recovery Court; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Items 8 & 9 – Ordinances 2026-149 and 2026-150: Amendments to city code on procurement definitions and cooperative procurement to conform to state optional provisions; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve.
• Item 10 – Ordinance 2026-151: Extended the partial tax exemption for rehabilitated commercial/industrial structures from June 30, 2026, to June 30, 2027; forwarded to council with recommendation to approve. (Councilmember Gibson later requested additional information on this item.)

Discussion Items

• Resolution 2026-R019 – Investigation into Payment Register Publication: Councilmember Gibson introduced the resolution, citing media reports of financial misuse (P card payments, fire department and electoral department charges) and the city’s removal of the monthly payment register. She argued that redacting protected data (e.g., DSS payments) could be done programmatically and would increase public trust. Council members debated the relationship between this resolution and a separate administration-sponsored paper (continued earlier). Council Chief of Staff R.J. Warren explained that if adopted, the Organizational Development Committee would direct staff to gather documents and hold hearings, with potential for subpoenas if information is withheld. The committee voted to continue the resolution to the July 15 meeting alongside the administration’s paper, aiming to align both efforts.

• PCard Program Overhaul Presentation: Director of Procurement Renee Almaraz, along with Deputy Directors and the PCard Supervisor, presented a comprehensive update. Key points:

  • A city audit produced 16 recommendations with 58 action items. As of the meeting, 12 recommendations were closed (confirmed by the City Auditor), 3 were submitted for closure (pending auditor review), and 1 (recommendation #12) was still pending submission.
  • Immediate actions: Suspended and restructured the program, reduced cards from 320 to 73 active cards, blocked food, travel, and Amazon purchases (except narrow exceptions), introduced mandatory pre-purchase forms, and partnered with Card Integrity for data analytics.
  • Policy changes: Revised PCard Policy 15, new Discretionary Spend Policy, travel meal restrictions, limited payment platforms (no Venmo; only Square and PayPal), prohibited department heads from being cardholders, enforced a 5-day reconciliation rule for cardholders and approvers, and limited approvers to no more than 3 cardholders.
  • Training: 100% of cardholders (145 people) and approvers completed mandatory training (including fraud indicators and conflict of interest). The City Auditor praised the training as among the best he had seen in local government.
  • A 90-day “soft relaunch” is underway with no new cards issued. Expansion will occur only if citywide metrics are met: 100% training completion, 90% transaction compliance, 95% documentation compliance, and ≤5% violation rate.
  • Councilmembers asked about staffing (increased from 1 to 3), the cost of Card Integrity ($1,400 per month), and how the program balances control with operational efficiency. The City Auditor noted that the $50,000 single-quote threshold remains a concern and that a discretionary spending policy is needed before the first audit recommendation can be closed.

Key Outcomes

• Item 1 (Ordinance 2026-081): Continued to July 15, 2026, by unanimous vote.
• Item 6 (Resolution 2026-R019): Continued to July 15, 2026, by unanimous vote, to be considered alongside the administration’s companion paper.
• Items 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10: All forwarded to the full City Council with recommendations to approve. Votes were unanimous on each item.
• The administration will present on delinquent real estate taxes and tax sale program relaunch at the next meeting. The Department of Economic Development is also scheduled to present on its plans, project pipeline, and performance metrics.
• The Chair committed to reviewing financial report formats and schedules at a pre-meeting before the next Finance Committee meeting, and to ensuring councilmembers receive advance information on continued papers.