RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Mayor Danny Avula is set to present the city's fiscal year 2027 budget to City Council in March, and city leaders say they want residents to have a say in how that money is spent.
Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II sat down with CBS 6 to explain the process and outline what residents can expect in the months ahead.
The budget cycle runs from July 1 through June 30. Planning begins around November, followed by a series of meetings and presentations from December through February to identify priorities. Those priorities are then compiled into a proposed budget, which the mayor presents to Council in March.
From there, Council takes the lead.
"The mayor introduces a budget that the council has to either accept, amend or almost redo," Donald said.
Council has most of April to weigh in.
"Once we deliver this budget to the council, they have most of April to be able to identify any amendments or changes that they want to make," Donald said.
"Once they finish their amendments, we have until May 31 to finalize the budget for a July 1 implementation, and then we do it all over again," Donald said.
Donald described the stakes plainly.
"The budget is very much like your household budget. It's the most important thing that the city does," Donald said.
For the fiscal year 2027 budget, the mayor and Council have identified 8 priorities ranging from public safety to economic development and workforce investment.
"Making sure that people not only feel safe but they are safe. So with our public safety, making sure that we maintain investments for fire and police and all of those things is really important. So what I think you'll see is a very holistic budget that we are investing in a little bit of everything," Donald said.
This year, the city added a series of budget town halls — open meetings where community members can learn about the process and share input on what the budget should include.
"We want to make sure that our budget and our government is a reflection of those who are actually paying for it," Donald said.
Donald said all feedback, whether submitted online or in person, is being put to use.
"Whether folks are participating online or they're in person, we're actually using all of their data to make recommendations to the mayor," Donald said.
Donald also acknowledged that while this year's billion-dollar budget will increase, it will come with some belt-tightening.
"The budget is set to increase, but our costs are also set to increase quite a bit. And so the way that we have tightened up our belt — the operational departments, those that the mayor and I oversee, we've asked them to take a 2% cut as a part of this budget," Donald said.
Despite the constraints, Donald said the city is committed to hearing from residents and finding new ways to serve them.
"We don't know unless we try. You know, I know things have been done a certain way for a while, but there's a new sheriff in town. You know, I believe in people first, people always," Donald said. "Our goal is to be best in class when it comes to government, and we'll continue working around the clock until we deliver what Richmond does deserve."
Two more town halls are scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Click here to register.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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