The Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee met on July 15, 2026, to consider several agenda items, including reappointments to city boards, a controversial ordinance amending the payment register, and resolutions related to housing trust funds and affordable housing developments. The meeting included detailed presentations, councilmember questions, and votes on multiple items.
Okay, Madam Clark, are you ready? All right. Um to the order. I'll be the finance and economic development standing committee meeting. Um to the mic. Oh okay. All right, sorry. Can you hear me now? Okay, good. Okay, we'll call the order, the finance and economic development standing committee meeting. Um Madam Clerk, if you would take care of the emergency evacuation plan, please upon activation under 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 north or west stairwells outside of the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. At the exiting the building, security will direct everyone down 9th Street to the fence area located between Clay and Lee Streets. Able persons should assist visually and hearing a pair of visitors with exiting the building. Persons wishing to speak during the public comment period and or public hearings are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before the committee are now allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language or personal nature, which assaults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that have not related to their official duties or just a question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the committee chair. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Uh we'll move to the public comment period, followed by the approval of the minutes. Seeing none, the public comment period is now closed. Yes. And then we have a list of other individuals to Tyler Ellis, Hannah Jones, Samuel Jones, Diane O'Livick, Kawisi Powell, Maya Rogers, and Joy Shaw. And also after meeting with Mr. Slat, they have indicated their full support for the reappointment of Mr. Botion. Who uh who offered their full support? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Um, Mr. Slatt um has offered his support, of course, and also uh Mr. Um Councilmember Breton definitely would like to see Mr. Botion to continue to serve as a representative. Okay, treasure of committee, Ms. Jones. I just had a quick question. All of these that are listed are how many vacancies do they have? Okay, so um currently they have, and then we're gonna move over to the next page as far as for an individual with a disability, but the current vacancies are for one non-voting um member as well as for a resident of the city who is a person with a disability. Um, and um, as I mentioned earlier, I did meet with Mr. Slat, and they indicated that two of the members who are currently serving as individuals residing in a council district south of the James River has failed to um attend meetings. Those um terms actually will end in November, and if it's the will of this committee not to confuse anything, that those individuals that are currently listed on this report who meets that criteria that we would include those applications again for consideration. So, but today we're asking you all to consider one of vacancy, and that would be maybe the reappointment for Mr. Botion, and then we're gonna move over on the second page to a resident of the city who is a person with a disability, and we received three applications, and um there has been indicated support for must Miss Ingrid Harding if the committee is willing to support that recommendation. So the recommendation is for reappointment of James Botion and initial appointment of Ingrid Harding, pleasure of the committee. That's not a that's not on the agenda outside. I move that we forward with the uh recommendation for reappointment, and what was the other name? Ingrid Harding. Ingrid Harding. Okay, um I'll second that up. It does appear that the uh participatory budget team steering commission has an uh uh a larger representation of the first district uh than it does of other districts, and uh I think this the charge of this commission weighs heavily across the city, and I think the representation is not reflective of that. So at the next opportunity, we need to look at that more critically.