The city of Richmond will host a trio of community budget meetings in the coming weeks to explain the budgeting process to residents and gain a better understanding of what they want to see prioritized in the coming fiscal year.
The meetings will take place April 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., April 14 at 7 p.m. (during the regular meeting of the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council) and April 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All meetings will be held in the Richmond City Council Chambers at 440 Civic Center Plaza.
The city typically hosts community meetings before the city’s Finance Department presents the council with a first draft of the budget, which is scheduled to happen this year on May 6. The council will have until July 1 to approve a final budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The approved budget establishes Richmond’s maximum annual spending limit, and can only be modified by the council.
This month’s community meetings will be translated into Spanish for in-person attendees and simultaneously live-streamed on Zoom for those who can’t be there physically but wish to tune in, according to Mubeen Qader, deputy director of Richmond’s Finance Department.
If you go
WHAT: City budget meetings
WHEN: April 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; April 14 at 7 p.m. (during the regular meeting of the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council). and April 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Richmond City Council Chambers, 440 Civic Center Plaza
More info: Visit the city’s website for more information and for Zoom attendance details.
“We start off with a presentation about the budget, the process including major financial headwinds and highlights, before we open it up for question and answer,” Qader told Richmondside. “It’s rather interactive.”
The number of people attending the annual community budget meetings dropped during the Covid pandemic, Qadar said, but interest is back up with the first payment of Chevron settlement funds, totaling $50 million, set to hit this year’s General Fund.
“Last year we had more attendance and traction,” Qader said, “and this year it seems like it’s hyped up.”
Jerry Gurule, accounting manager for the city’s Budget and Treasury Division, said every budget cycle brings new questions for city staff to answer.
“I’ve only done a few cycles of budget meetings but it seems like every year there is a new topic that someone in the community might bring up, whether that’s public safety or health concerns,” said Gurule. As an example, he cited concerns about unregulated street vending, which resulted in the city’s eventual adoption of a mobile vendor program.
Last year, the council adopted a roughly $500 million budget. About half of that was in the city’s General Fund, which covers operational costs such as staffing and basic city services. The other half included capital expenses and non-general program and service costs.
An estimate of next fiscal year’s total budget amount won’t be available until the department presents the first draft to council in May, according to Qader.
Richmondside reached out to Mayor Eduardo Martinez with a list of questions pertaining to the community budget meetings but did not receive a response by publication time. Martinez has in recent weeks argued that local revenues from Chevron via taxes and settlements should be viewed as part of the city’s General Fund, and not as separate “special funds.”
