Mayor Stoney addresses Richmond restaurant owner's concerns after meals tax vote

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond City Mayor Levar Stoney weighed in on the meals tax new ordinanceRichmond City Council passed Monday night. The ordinance directs the city to apply meals tax payments to a restaurant's current tax bill, and not past overdue bills unless there was extra money in the payment to do so.

Richmond restaurant owner Samuel Veney attended the meeting and shared a recent letter he received from the city's finance department. He said he left the meeting still unsure about the steps being taken to rectify the many issues he and other business owners said they are having with the city when it comes to the meals tax.

Mayor Stoney told CBS 6 on Wednesday that he felt like the ordinance was a great step in the right direction. But, he added that he understood why Veney would be upset after receiving a letter about a delinquent payment while resolving a prior bill with the city.

"He was upset, and I would be upset as well. But I will tell you this, and I will tell all the restaurateurs they have our commitment to getting it right and I think on Monday we took the first step in getting it right," said Stoney. "There are many more plans in the works and I’m asking not just for their patients but asking them to keep us accountable to ensure that we live up to the commitment that we made."

Veney told CBS 6 that despite his frustration of getting a new letter from the department of finance, it was the response the city's spokesperson gave on Tuesday, when CBS 6 asked about the letter that truly bothered him.

I asked Stoney about that response from the city and he said he had not yet seen the report with the full statement.

This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.