Stoney has spent much of his tenure chasing brass rings such as the Navy Hill redevelopment project and a casino in South Richmond, apparently forgetting his cornerstone plan to root out inefficiency and dysfunction in city government. That neglect, for these restaurateurs, is hard to swallow.
Among the first bills that Dr. Michael J. Jones could patron as a new member of the House of Delegates is one that would usher in changes to the City Charter, or constitution.
Now the president of City Council, a post he will give up Dec. 31, he was among six members who agreed Monday to support a package of charter changes and send the package to the Virginia legislature for approval.
Under proposed changes to the City Charter or constitution,
City Council would gain new authority over housing subsidies
and real estate tax relief to residents with low to moderate
incomes, in addition to setting its own compensation and modi-
fying zoning.
Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch hopes to gain
unanimous support from her eight colleagues
at the Monday, Dec. 11, council meeting for
the changes she has negotiated with Mayor
Levar M. Stoney’s administration.
If passed by the council, the package
would be sent to the General Assembly for
approval in the upcoming 2024 session.
Many of the changes follow recommenda-
tions that a council-created Richmond City
Charter Review Commission submitted Aug.
2 after a year of study.
As the most significant package of charter changes proposed
since the 2004 creation of a mayor elected citywide, the amend-
ments do not address the current relationship between the council
and the mayor ahead of the 2024 elect
Recommendations for changes to Richmond’s charter are released, a Westwood-area apartment building is up for a vote in Henrico, and Hanover weighs an update to its comprehensive plan.
Richmond’s City Charter Review Commission is pouring over that lengthy, 55-page document that spells out exactly how local government is supposed to function.