Richmond Governmental Operations Committee Meeting - June 24, 2026
Richmond Governmental Operations Committee Meeting - June 24, 2026
The Governmental Operations standing committee of the Richmond City Council met on June 24, 2026, at approximately 1:45 PM. The committee considered a routine code update ordinance and received presentations from the Department of Public Utilities and the Office of Elections. No public comments were made.
Consent Calendar
- No items were on the consent calendar.
Public Comments & Testimony
- The public comment period was opened for items not on the agenda; no one signed up to speak in person or virtually. The public hearing on Ordinance 2026-160 also drew no speakers. No public testimony was heard.
Discussion Items
Ordinance 2026-160 – City Code Recodification
- RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff, introduced the ordinance to replace the city code with an updated version that removes redundancies, reserves spacing, and incorporates ordinances adopted through October 2025. A supplement will follow 90 days after adoption to include legislation from October 2025 to the present. Councilmember Gibson inquired about the frequency of recodification; Mr. Warren confirmed it is required every five years. The ordinance was forwarded to full council with a recommendation for approval (4-0 vote).
Department of Public Utilities – Customer Information System and Billing Update
- Director Morris presented an update on the transition from a 40-year-old legacy system to two new Oracle cloud-based systems (customer cloud service and field service platform) that went live on May 26, 2026. Key improvements include automated rate calculations, 8-day training (down from 6-12 weeks), reduced billing estimates (from 131,010 in FY23 to 77,355 in FY26), and a new online customer portal expected in fall 2026. Challenges included a vendor changing servers without notice, causing 15,000 payments to be stuck in queue and high call volumes (up to 1.5-hour hold times). Late fees were automatically waived, and disconnections and flow restrictions were paused. The Metro Care cap was raised from $500 to $1,000. Director Morris noted that 36,000 of 51,000 aging meters have been replaced, with 16,000 remaining. An audit recommendation count dropped from 45 to near zero. Councilmembers discussed communication strategies, payment issues, meter replacement plans, and vendor accountability.
Office of Elections – Primary Election and Operational Updates
- Director of Elections David Levine provided an overview of the August 4, 2026 primary election (only a Republican U.S. Senate primary). Early voting began June 18, with expanded Sunday voting (July 19 and 26, noon to 5 PM) as required by new state law. Hickory Hill Community Center is unavailable due to scheduling conflicts; voting will occur at the Office of Elections and City Hall. A ballot-on-demand printing system was deployed to improve efficiency. Security enhancements include weapon detection systems at both entrances. New hires were highlighted, including a deputy director, election operations manager, and outreach coordinator. The office also revamped its website and election officer training. Councilmembers asked about communication to voters, security impacts, and contingency planning for potential closure of school polling places. Mr. Levine noted the office operated four special elections in a year under budget constraints and discussed the financial gap from the April special election.
Standing Committee Schedule
- Staff reported the next meeting will be July 22, 2026, at 1:00 PM, with presentations from 311 about SOPs and service level agreements. The committee discussed moving the meeting time to 1:30 PM; a decision was deferred pending confirmation with presenters.
Key Outcomes
- Ordinance 2026-160 (City Code recodification) was approved by a 4-0 vote and forwarded to the full council with a recommendation for approval.
- Committee staff will follow up with DPU on Councilmember Gibson’s question about the age of water meters.
- The committee will adjust the July 22 meeting time to 1:30 PM if possible; notification will be sent.
- The meeting adjourned after approximately one hour.
Meeting Transcript
I've tried to just have a good thing. So what's that? It's gonna be superficial, good afternoon. The standing committee for government governmental operations is now called to order. Madam Clerk, can you please read the chamber emergency evacuation plan announcement and public speaker guidelines? 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 stale whales 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 of 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 a question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the committee chair. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers for fitting any remaining time and further disciplinary action is necessary, which can include include barring from attendance at future meetings of the committee for a period of six months. And madam chair, all members are in attendance today with the exception of Ms. Gibson, and you do have a quorum. Wonderful, thank you so much. I believe we um have public comment next. Is there anyone in the chamber or online who'd like to provide public comment? Public comment is now open. Is there anyone here who wishes to address this committee regarding items not on today's agenda? Madam Chair Cena, and no one sign up to speak virtually before the 10 a.m. deadline. The public comment period is now closed and back to the committee. Thank you so much. I believe we do not have minutes to approve at this meeting, so let's move on to the meat of the agenda and um in consideration of the items we have, I'd like to start with the papers for consideration. So I'd like to amend the agenda and start with ordinance 2026-160. Okay. Mr. Warren. Yes, may I please the committee RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff? I have been tasked to provide the introduction of this ordinance. And what this does is it um it is necessary for this orders to be adopted because we have to update the city code per the city charter and state code. And um, once it's uh adopted, the uh the city code will be replaced with this newer version. It takes out uh redundancies, reserve spacing and upstates it per recent adopted legislation by this council. Um just for your knowledge and those listening. This is uh the the new city code will include uh ordinances adopted up to October of 25. So anything adopted since then will not be in this, um, but uh after this adopted uh a supplement will be included 90 days later. So any legislation adopted from October to present day will be included and updated at that at that point, and um uh included in the ordinance online review and probably in your packets is a summary provided by the city attorney's office of uh any updates that may be of interest to city officials. Thank you so much. Uh let's open it up to public comment at this time. Is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak in opposition to this paper? Is there anyone who wishes to speak in support of this paper? Madam Chair, seeing no one regarding this item, the public hearing is now closed and back to the committee. Thank you. Um members and welcome, Ms. Gibson. Uh does anyone have a question about the updating of our code? So just since new here, is this something we do every five years?
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