CITY OF RICHMOND
Dr. Joseph P. Casey, left, is sworn in with his wife Suzanne as Chesterfield County administrator with The Hon. Steven C. McCallum, Chief Judge, 12th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, at Chesterfield County Historic Courthouse on Friday. (Daniel Sangjib/RTD)
Richmond sets date for increase in street parking prices; council OKs towing fee increase
The cost of street parking in Richmond will increase 50 cents an hour on July 5, according to the city’s Department of Public Works. Under the new fee schedule approved as part of the city’s budget for the coming fiscal year, the price of parking for an hour will go from $.75 to $1.25. City administrators estimate the change will bring in an additional $500,000 annually. The new fiscal year begins July 1, but city officials said Monday that they see the extra four days at the old rate as both a grace period and a cushion to allow them to reprogram meters.
With Richmond’s ‘credit card’ maxed out, mayor hopes to resolve city’s debt problem before term ends
When Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ final term ends in December, he’ll leave the city with a credit card that’s virtually maxed out. Over the course of eight budgets, Jones has put forward capital spending plans that were funded by more than doubling the city’s outstanding debt to upward of $800 million. That means that when the next mayor and City Council take office, they’ll only have $8 million in borrowing capacity available during their terms to spend on improvements to such things as schools and roads, according to the city’s financial adviser, Davenport and Co.
CHESTERFIELD
Chesterfield County has fourth-highest increase in employment
County employment grew at the fourth-fastest rate in the country from December 2014 to December 2015. Employment in the county grew 6 percent during that time period, well over the 1.9 percent average country-wide, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released county employment data last week. “We are extremely pleased that Chesterfield County is once again among the leaders in job growth in country,” said Garrett Hart, director of Chesterfield Economic Development. “On behalf of Chesterfield County, I extend my thanks to Chesterfield businesses that continue to create strong job growth in our community.”
County leaders may scrap ‘accountability’ committee
A committee created to promote transparency in the school construction process could be on the chopping block this summer. The Capital Construction Goals and Accountability Committee was scheduled to meet June 15, but county and school leaders canceled the meeting last week after realizing there was no new construction related information to discuss. Noting that the committee’s 2016 meeting schedule doesn’t include a July date, some citizens are wondering whether the Board of Supervisors intends to use the two-month hiatus to make changes or eliminate the committee altogether. “I don’t think the committee’s role is as defined as it needs to be. That creates some confusion and frustration, both for committee members and citizens,” acknowledged Midlothian District Supervisor Leslie Haley, who serves on the 12-person panel alongside Matoaca District Supervisor Steve Elswick.
At swearing-in, Chesterfield’s new administrator pledges to hold himself to high standards
Two weeks before his first day on the new job, Chesterfield County’s incoming county administrator was sworn in Friday. Joseph P. Casey, who is gearing up to be Chesterfield’s seventh county administrator since the position was established more than four decades ago, took his oath of office at the courthouse off Iron Bridge Road. Because of the weather, the ceremony had to be moved inside from the steps outside the courthouse, the same place where he was formally introduced to county employees last month.
GOOCHLAND
Budesky named Goochland’s new County Administrator
Two and a half months after bidding farewell to retiring County Administrator Rebecca Dickson, the Goochland County Board of Supervisors announced today that John A. Budesky will be stepping into the role. Budesky will begin his duties as County Administrator effective August 1, 2016. During a special Board meeting held this afternoon at the County Administration Building, Budesky took a few minutes after being introduced to address those in attendance.
HENRICO
Henrico supervisors set bond referendum, taxi ordinance in motion
Henrico County’s proposed bond referendum is moving closer to a vote during the November election. The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday evening asking the county’s circuit court to order a five-part vote on about $419.8 million in capital improvements.
Henrico has not put forth a bond measure since 2005. If approved, $272.6 million would go toward school construction, expansion and renovations; $87.1 million in recreation and park projects; $24 million for replacement of the Fairfield District library; $22.1 million for fire stations and facilities; and $14 million for road projects. Each of the proposed bond issues would be voted on individually.
POWHATAN
Board looks at county development
A public hearing concerning an application to rezone a property on Hancock Road at a recent Powhatan County Board of Supervisors meeting took on a deeper meaning as the board members considered how their decision may influence future development in the county. During the board’s meeting on Monday, May 23, members considered an application by Manage This LLC for a conditional rezoning of 14.6 acres on Hancock Road from Agricultural-10 to Residential-2. Nathan Nuckols, who submitted the application, sought to subdivide the parcel to create four residential lots with a minimum of 2 acres each (3.1 acre average). After almost an hour of discussion, four board members voted to deny the rezoning request while Larry Nordvig, who represents District 2, abstained because he felt he was not clear enough on the case after all the information presented to make a decision on it.
STATE/REGIONAL
State transportation board to vote on $14.4 billion plan
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will cast a final vote today on a $14.4 billion package of nearly 3,200 rail, road and other projects for the next six years, the first such plan to use a new scoring and prioritization framework created by the Virginia legislature in 2014. The board and state transportation officials discussed Virginia’s Six-Year Improvement Program at a workshop meeting Monday. It will be the first to employ the HB2 process signed into law by Gov. Terry McAuliffe more than two years ago. About $1.7 billion of the plan involves projects scored under the HB2 process, created to use objective criteria to select transportation priorities and ensure the state is getting the most value from limited funding.
State revenues increase 6.4 percent in May, narrowing potential year end shortfall
State revenues rose 6.4 percent in May, slightly narrowing the gap of a potential year-end shortfall that could imperil scheduled raises for state employees, college faculty, and teachers in December. However, the improved performance, based largely on a big drop in income tax refunds, still leaves Virginia lagging behind projected revenue growth for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Through the end of May, revenues had grown 1.9 percent for the year, or 1.3 percentage points behind the projection on which the budget is based. “We’ve got to make up more than $220 million by the end of the month to make our forecast,” House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said Monday.
Virginia’s economy shows signs of recovery despite cuts in federal employment, workspaces
Not all is well in Virginia. Vacated office parks are dragging down local tax coffers. Home values in the exurbs of Fairfax and Loudoun counties are lagging the rest of the region. The federal government continues to slim its workforce and its work space, which historically does not bode well for other sectors. But there is little doubt that things are on the upswing in the commonwealth, particularly after data reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce Tuesday showed that Virginia posted 1.4 percent GDP growth in 2015, well above its nearly flat 2014 GDP which ranked third-to-last nationally. That growth isn’t going to set the world on fire. It was 32nd nationally, just ahead of New York and Michigan but behind Maryland, which posted 1.5 percent growth. D.C. posted 2.5 percent growth in 2015, though it is typically compared to other urban cities and not larger states.
ELECTIONS
Del. Scott Taylor stuns Rep. J. Randy Forbes in 2nd District primary
Del. Scott W. Taylor, R-Virginia Beach, stunned Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, Tuesday night in the 2nd District Republican primary, thwarting the 15-year representative’s effort to stay in Congress by switching to a more favorable district. Two years after Dave Brat shocked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 GOP primary in the 7th District, another senior member of the Virginia congressional delegation went down to an upstart rival. Closer to home, in Virginia’s only two-party contested congressional primary, state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, and Henrico’s Republican Sheriff Mike Wade easily won their parties’ nomination contests in the redrawn 4th U.S. House District, setting up a November election battle to become the Richmond area’s new representative in Congress.
Forbes, like Cantor, caught up in anti-establishment wave
Some species eat their young. Virginia Republicans are eating their elders. Del. Scott W. Taylor’s upset of Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, in Tuesday’s 2nd District Republican primary is another anti-establishment thunderclap in Virginia politics, two years after Dave Brat ousted U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the 7th District GOP primary. “Ultimately, what it shows is the voters’ overall disgust with Congress,” said Robert D. Holsworth, a veteran political commentator, formerly at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Richmond mayoral race down to 13 candidates after filing deadline
The field of Richmond mayoral candidates narrowed to 13 after two did not file the paperwork and signatures necessary to get on the November ballot by Tuesday’s 7 p.m. deadline. Click through to view candidates.
58 file to run for Richmond City Council, School Board
The Richmond mayoral contest isn’t the only local election drawing a bumper crop of candidates: With every race contested, 58 city residents have filed paperwork to run for 18 seats on the City Council and the School Board. That’s 17 more candidates than sought office during the 2012 election, and with only five incumbents seeking re-election to the City Council and another five seeking re-election to the School Board, both bodies have the potential to look starkly different come January. On the council, vacancies were created when two candidates opted to run for mayor instead — Jonathan T. Baliles and Michelle R. Mosby — and another two decided to retire, Kathy C. Graziano and Charles R. Samuels.
Trump’s Va. chairman tapped to help shape RPV strategy for November
As many Republicans keep Donald Trump’s presidential campaign at arm’s length, the Republican Party of Virginia is moving closer to embracing it. Corey Stewart, a Republican candidate for governor in 2017 who led Trump’s Virginia primary campaign, has been selected as co-chairman of the party’s “Team Virginia” field and communications efforts this year, the party announced Thursday. He’ll share those duties with former Gov. Jim Gilmore, who ran against Trump in the GOP primary. “With Corey Stewart on board, we will be able to bring together the resource of the Trump campaign and combine them with the resources that the Republican National Committee and RPV have already committed to this effort,” RPV Chairman John Whitbeck said in a news release. “Team Virginia is the largest and most aggressive plan in the history of the RPV.”
Northam gets endorsements as Dems meet in Richmond for state convention
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders may not be hitched to the Hillary Clinton presidential bandwagon yet, but Virginia’s top Democrats are officially lining up behind the 2017 gubernatorial candidacy of Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam. As party faithful gather today for their state convention in Richmond, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine issued statements backing the physician politician from the Eastern Shore to lead Democrats’ statewide ticket next year. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring — who once considered a run for the Executive Mansion — had endorsed Northam in September.