Access, Action and Accountability
Public safety, human services delivery, financial discipline and regional
cooperation are among the forefront issues that my Administration is addressing. The ultimate
goal is to improve the quality of life for all Richmond residents.
My agenda for Richmond is the citizens' agenda. It's having a safe and healthy community, with diverse economic
opportunities and improvements in local education. This is a vision that unites us all. My Administration is
focusing on the public's "A-A-A" mandate for governance: Access, Action and
Accountability.
Access
One of the most essential elements is open access. Ours is an open government - of, and by, and for the people -
where voices are heard, ideas are welcomed, and issues and needs are addressed. I am keenly interested in what
is on the mind of our citizens. I strive to make myself ever-available to answer questions from members of our
community and discuss their interests and concerns.
Action
My Administration hit the ground running, assembling a broad and diverse group of Richmond stakeholders who have
recommended ways to enhance the City's delivery of services and improve citizens' quality of life.
Now in our fourth year, we are setting a new course for the benefit of our entire community.
My door is always open to meet with the Council to address the issues
facing our community.
Accountability
As your Mayor, the "buck stops here" in my office. Responsibility and accountability go hand in hand. Accountability
applies to citywide service delivery, reaching our citizens in every corner of our city.
Much hope and promise exist for seizing today's opportunities toward building a great future for the City of Richmond.
Access:
- New website at
www.RichmondsMayor.com brings up-to-date information directly from the Mayor
- "Visions"
e-newsletter also provides information on a variety of topics
- Monthly Town Hall radio program on KISS FM (99.3, 105.7) heard 9-10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month; PRAISE FM (104.7) from 6-7 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month; and POWER 92.1 FM from 7-8 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month
- Radio broadcast of “A Minute with the Mayor,” which airs at 11:59 a.m. Monday-Friday, on WRIR FM 97.3
- "Ask the Mayor," an online column appearing every other Tuesday that answers citizens'
questions regarding public safety, community revitalization, and other topics
- At a series of
Town Hall meetings across the city in the Spring and Fall of 2007, the Mayor and his entire Cabinet
responded to numerous citizen questions
- Frequent appearances at community events, radio and television programs, local government meetings, public safety
conferences, youth forums and other local venues
Action:
- The City of Richmond has sought to build or renovate up to 15 schools, following the consolidation or closing of older, under-utilized schools
- With geographic-based “community sector policing” and a fully staffed Police Department,
the City is enjoying its lowest crime rate in 25 years
- The Mayor brings in an additional developer to revive plans for a Hilton Hotel and 130-unit
condominium complex in Downtown at the site of the former Miller & Rhoads department store at 5th and Broad
- Has saved the City of Richmond more than $330 million so far as a result of resolving a longstanding lawsuit regarding the City's Public
Safety Building, purchasing the Marshall Plaza building rather than continuing to pay rental expenses, centralizing the mass
purchasing of standard products through the City's new procurement program, and prevailing in a number of other court challenges
- Aggressive attack on substandard housing, inoperable vehicles and illegal dumping now that
City code enforcement inspectors are empowered to issue a summons for violations
- Intensive region-wide "fugitive sweeps" are removing the
most wanted criminals and suspects from our streets
- Relocated GRTC bus routes off of Broad Street for increased safety and less traffic congestion
- Reinstated GRTC bus fare to original $1.25 (a decrease of 25 cents) to
accommodate those who rely on public transportation
- Formation of Mayor's
Truancy Reduction and Prevention Program in 2005 in targeted school zones as well as citywide in order to encourage students to stay in school
- Introduced City of the Future
initiatives that will:
- Spend $52 million for improvements to streets, sidewalks and
curbs/gutters across the city
- Provide $25 million to renovate and expand the
Carpenter Center to serve as the future home of the Richmond Symphony, the Virginia Opera and the Richmond Ballet
- Spend $11.3 million on major City parks and facility renovations such as the Bryan Park
restoration of the Azalea Gardens decorative pond and fountain and Byrd Park drainage system repairs at the Dogwood Dell and Gillette Gardens areas
- Spend $8.5 million on neighborhood City parks and facility renovations and upgrades such as improved baseball
and soccer playing fields, lighting improvements and
upgrades to playgrounds and tennis courts
- Spend $9 million for state-of-the-art Internet and other improvements at all City libraries
- Spend $4 million to modernize the Landmark Theatre
- Create a citywide Science and Math High School patterned after the legendary school in New York and a
successful similar endeavor in Northern Virginia
- Create a citywide High School for the Performing Arts and Voc Tech, patterned after the great
institutions in some of our biggest American cities
- Proposed legislation to City Council to adopt measures to promote
workforce housing
for Police officers, teachers, cafeteria workers, and others who live in the city
- Launched a Vacant Building Registry of some 3,200 vacant buildings to reduce neighborhood blight -- the City initially focuses on improvements for
several long-empty buildings at Broad and Second Streets, a major gateway into historic Jackson Ward
- Up to $150 million in funding is secured for City improvements under the first phase of the “City of the Future” plan
- 110 additional Police officers
are placed on the City streets to promote greater public safety across the city
- A new electronic parking
enforcement program, the first of its kind in the nation, replaces traditional towing with wheel “booting”
- Hosted a Town Hall meeting on Shockoe Bottom drainage
and announced a $20 million plan to prevent future flooding
- A series of Police and Citizen Partnership for Prevention Workshops continue to address neighborhood public safety concerns
- The $50-million Battery Park sewer system improvements preclude future flash flooding due to heavy rains
- Saved $49 million by resolving a longstanding lawsuit regarding the City’s Public Safety Building, due to the Mayor's proposal to expand the Manchester Courthouse as an alternate location
Accountability:
- “RichmondWorks,”
a new performance tracking system, enables the City Administration to evaluate department performance and
identify areas for improvement
- Appointment of a new City Administration Cabinet of officials that includes deputy chief administrative officers,
police chief, fire chief, and department and agency directors
- A citizen-led Human Services Committee issued a Vision 2020
report that identified the need to address early childhood development, child and adolescent health, school success,
at-risk male intervention and success, well-being of senior citizens, prevention of homelessness as well as increased efficiency and
coordination of community resources
- Highly instrumental in bringing the Philip Morris USA’s Center for Research & Technology and MeadWestvaco
headquarters to Downtown Richmond, creating hundreds of new jobs in the city
- Appointment of an
Inter-Agency Task Force on Community Infrastructure to develop measures to promote mixed-income and mixed-use neighborhoods
- Established numerous planning committees:
Efficiency & Effectiveness; Financial Review; Regional Cooperation; Human Services; Fleet/Procurement Review;
City Attorney Evaluation; Performing Arts; Jail Review; Education Advisory; Shockoe Advisory. Recommend ways to
enhance local government operations, community projects and quality-of-life initiatives. Many of these recommendations
have already been implemented
- The Police Department and the Department of Justice Services launched a truancy initiative across the city.
When previously operated by the school system, children had 10 unexcused absences before the school system would
take action. Today, under management by the Police Department and the Department of Justice Services, truancy measures
are taken if a child has three unexcused absences
- GRIP is established to deter gang-related activity -- one of four federally funded pilot sites in the U.S.
- The Office of the Chief Financial Officer initiates a citywide reform of financial operations that extends much-needed oversight to enhance
service delivery and transactional processes in City government
- The Hispanic Liaison
Office moves into the Southside Community Services Building to provide a more centralized location for citizens
and enhanced coordination with other City agencies
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