RVA 5x5 - December 9, 2022

The Pot Overfloweth; A New Prescription For Vision Zero; A $12 Million Oversight Is Just A Small Fraction; A Necessary Investment (Still With No Timeline); Wrong Way Numbers.

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.

Check out our new Deep Dive feature this week entitled “EnRichmond and The City’s Radio Silence - The Clock Is Ticking. Deep Dives are more in-depth looks at topics of import in our City and our region.

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STORY #1 — The Pot Overfloweth
There have been a lot of stories this week about the $21 million surplus announced by the Mayor and what he is asking Council to endorse in how to disburse it in a budget amendment vote scheduled for a Monday evening vote. “The growth of the real estate market has caused the taxable real property revenue to exceed the budgeted amount,” the Mayor wrote in a letter to Council.

Dean Mirshahi at WRIC reports that out of the $17 million, $5 million would be used for improving pay scales for first responders and $3.1 million for inclement weather shelters — two things that are definitely needed and long overdue. (See Story #3 for more on the shelter issue).

There is an allocation of $1,7…