As a step towards “Building A Better Richmond,” Mayor Dwight C. Jones today made his seventh “New Beginnings” announcement with the issuance of the following statement;

“Today I am withdrawing the two appeal lawsuits, Wilder et al. vs. City Council and Wilder et al. vs. School Board and City Council, currently pending in the Supreme Court of Virginia. This is a new beginning in settling City Charter differences in a more constructive and cost-effective manner.

“To the extent that there may be ambiguities with the City Charter, we will work in an environment of communication, collaboration and cooperation for resolution. The Charter Review Commission will work to resolve any issues rather than continuing this additional financial burden on City taxpayers. Lawsuits are expensive and should only be used as a last resort. The legal costs associated with this matter have totaled more than $1.1 million to date.

“I cannot justify the continued spending of taxpayer dollars and continuance of a dispute that should have been resolved with communication. It is fiscally prudent to withdraw these appeals and stop this ongoing expenditure. In the future, whenever differences do arise, we will make every effort to resolve them and to work out differences without resorting to lawsuits.”

Contact: Tammy Hawley, (804) 646-3110