RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Mayor Danny Avula's administration has handed over an investigation into a potential conflict of interest in a controversial solar panel project to the inspector general's office.
Avula said the probe has been transferred to the city's top watchdog Foster Curtiss, who is responsible for investigating waste, fraud and abuse, in the interest of having an independent and neutral review.
Avula initially ordered his chief administrative officer (CAO) Odie Donald to complete the investigation after the mayor said he learned of a potential conflict of interest.
That followed reporting from the Richmond Times-Dispatch that a staffer in the city's sustainability office, which was leading the charge on the project, worked for both the city and the solar panel company seeking the contract, Secure Solar Futures.
"It was just my immediate reaction to hearing about the news that there may have been some conflict of interest, so I assigned the CAO to look at it," Avula said.
The inspector general's office had already been investigating something related to the solar panel project, but it's unclear what.
Curtiss told CBS 6 it was his office's suggestion to take over the investigation into the potential conflict of interest from the CAO.
"So, it's in process. Once it goes over the IG's office, I don't get any insight into it, so I don't really know what timeline it will be on, but the IG will carry out the investigation and then report out when they're completed," Avula said.
Public records show the staffer in question did disclose to the city in January his employment with Secure Solar Futures during onboarding.
But as Avula noted, that disclosure form was not reviewed or signed by a supervisor.
A memo dated in June from the sustainability office said they became aware of the issue in April. The memo characterized this as an "innocent oversight," said no improper activities were identified, and that they took steps to remediate.
But Avula said the accuracy of that memo is "under review," and that officials higher up in his administration were not aware of the document until October.
In a statement addressing those records, Avula said, "some of our internal processes and systems, like those related to outside employment disclosures and addressing personnel matters, did not work the way I expect them to."
As a recap, the Richmond City Council in September ultimately rejected a proposal from Avula's administration to enter into a 25-year contract with Secure Solar Futures. The company would have installed panels on dozens of city buildings.
Supporters say it would have advanced sustainability goals and saved the city money on energy bills, but council members felt they were being rushed and cited concerns that the project carried too many financial risks.
After the council killed the deal, any chance of resurrecting it vanished once Avula said he learned of the potential conflict of interest.
Inspector General Foster Curtiss told CBS 6 he can't comment on an active investigation and does not have a timeline for completion.
