Tax Reduction For Your Casino Vote?; Housing Funding Troubles; Undermining Trust & Confidence; Charter Changing Nuggets; Electoral Indignation.

RVA 5x5 - August 11, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis from Richmond, VA.

This week check out our five stories on:

• A first glance look at some of the suggested changes to the city charter. It’s a long report with lots to consider, but here is a first look at a few nuggets.

• A blistering editorial about some deception and deliberate(?) omission from City Hall about the kerfuffle over the fire training facility next to Hickory Hill.

• Henrico is already preparing tax rebates to send to property owners for the second year in a row. Will Richmond do the same with our expected large surplus? And whatever happened to Mayor Stoney’s promise to lower the real estate tax if you approve his casino?

• There is nothing more valuable to a politico than free media and indignation at righting a wrong, and we have had plenty of it over voting over the last two weeks. But it is cheap and selective indignation, at best.

• A perplexing look at how a huge housing development was denied needed funding and how it now seems stuck in a perpetual spiral that will be difficult to correct which will hurt those who need housing the most.

STORY #1 — Charter Changing Nuggets
A new 150-page report released by the City Charter Review Commission has some interesting things to say about the functioning of our city government and what might be done to fix it. While I have not read the full report in depth, there were a few things of note gleaned from the meandering Executive Summary.

As reported by Jonathan Spiers in Richmond BizSense: The report presents four primary sets of recommendations, including updating the city charter document to give it more clarity; revising the current mayor-council form of government concerning powers and responsibilities of the mayor, council, chief administrative officer and city attorney; and staggering council members’ four-year terms.

The report recommended 47 specific changes to the charter, some important and others more administrative like cleaning up/modernizing language and using technology, and removing some items that are in Virginia General Law.

It also goes on to suggest a longer-term look at reverting to the council-manager form of government, which governed the city from 1948-2005 (not exactly Richmond’s golden age, btw). That would require more review and a citywide referendum possibly as soon as 2026 and maybe 2027 (and 2028) because if it doesn’t pass the first time, they can bring it up for another vote over and over, but I digress.