RICHMOND, Va. -- Mayor Levar Stoney addressed ongoing meals tax issues and other City Hall inefficiencies in an interview with CBS 6 Thursday, saying he is proud of how his team is handling day-to-day operations and communications with business owners since controversy began circulating last week.
As previously reported by CBS 6, some restaurant owners have come forward with concerns that the city's finance department failed to notify them of late or missing meals tax payments, allowing late fees to rack up into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Business owners said because they were unaware of an outstanding balance, the finance department applied currently monthly meals tax payments to growing penalties and interests, causing restaurants to unknowingly end up in a cycle of being delinquent.
Restauranteurs have since banded together to call for accountability and solutions at the city and state level. Some have stated they were planning to move their business out of Richmond.
After requesting to speak with Mayor Stoney multiple times last week, the mayor agreed to an interview. CBS 6 also asked about concerns residents have raised in recent months regarding other city departments.
Here is the full transcript between reporter Tyler Layne and Mayor Stoney:
Layne:
"So let's talk a little bit about the solutions then. We have heard over the past couple of weeks that there's this new online billing system coming in, is that correct? But the billing and the online system isn't a new issue. There was an audit going back to 2018 where an auditor recommended that the city upgrade or replace its automated debt collection. That was six years ago. Here we are in 2024, we're still not there. Would you say your administration has failed to be proactive in addressing that?"
Stoney:
"I would say that, you know, all the fixes sometimes cost money, and sometimes it means that we have to have a negotiation between the administration and also members of city council, and we obviously have not gotten there on this front. However, we do have RVAPay on the way this year. And as has been stated in the past, you know, these changes don't happen overnight, right? Audits are done. Errors are recognized. But they do not happen overnight. I believe one of our neighboring counties just started their system in 2021, and so we're a little bit behind them, but this doesn't happen overnight. And I'm proud of the administration that we actually will have a solution, but we all know that this doesn't fix every single problem. I'm not going to sit here today and tell you that RVAPay is going to be the panacea, but will it be helpful? Yes. It will be a tool, not just for local government, but also will be a tool for small businesses as well. And it's my belief that small businesses are the backbone, the front bone, the middle bone of this Richmond economy, and so we want people to want to open business here, to do business here. However, we recognize there are responsibilities on the government and there are responsibilities on the taxpayer and the business as well. We want to strengthen how we go about doing business with those who are courageous enough to actually open a small business, and that means strengthening our communication, stepping up our technology innovation game up. And I think hopefully, that we can get to a resolution that, you know what, we won't have these problems moving forward."
Layne:
"And your reaction to some business owners who say they would rather just take their business outside of Richmond at this point just to not have to deal with the headache of doing business in the city?"
Stoney:
"Well, you know, no mayor ever wants to hear that. No elected official ever wants to hear that. We are one of the best places to live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, because I think we're also a great place to do business as well. Yes, there has been human error on the government side. And I believe that, again, we have responsibilities and businesses have responsibilities as well. Now, I think there's a way that we can meet in the middle, where we can actually ensure that Richmond's still the best place to do business in central Virginia."
Layne:
"And one last question here-- We know that the meals tax issue is not the only City Hall inefficiency that we've seen recently, right? Outside of the meals tax, we have the finance department that fumbled 66,000 personal property tax bills. We have the Department of Social Services incredibly understaffed, unable to process critical benefits on time for folks. We have the Department of Public Utilities that is unresponsive to customer service needs, and now people are getting these surprise water bills because of that estimated backlog for the bills. So, when you took office seven years ago, you pledged that you were going to fix up City Hall....
Stoney:
"Yep."
Layne:
"Seven years later, we're still seeing a lot of these persistent challenges. So how would you rate your performance in fixing City Hall?"
Stoney:
"You just named four things. I've been mayor for seven years. I'm going into my eighth year, so you probably left out 99 or 100 other things that we've done very well in the City of Richmond, and I'll tell you this: The fiscal health of the city is stronger than it's ever been before, and you've identified a few problems. I wish sometimes that, and I can't tell you how to do your job and I'm sure you're going to try and tell me how to do my job, but I wish sometimes our friends in the press, who love the City of Richmond like I love the City of Richmond, will highlight all the great things that are happening in the City of Richmond as well. However, when problems do happen, we have to be devoted to the fix. And have all the problems been fixed? No. This is not a utopia. Everything isn't always perfect. But I can guarantee you this: things are far better than they were 10 years ago. They're far better than they were 20 years ago. We just have to fix the problems that are in front of us today. At the end of last year, when I sat down with news outlets, I talked about how I want the government to be better in terms of interfacing with the taxpayers and with the ratepayers, and that means fixing some of the systems that we do have that still plague us to this day. And a lot of that is also due to the fact that we are understaffed. There are less employees working here in city government than there were 10 years ago, and that's because after the pandemic, people decided to do other jobs around the city and around the region. That's okay. No excuses. We still have to fix the problems, and so we're going to continue to invest in more human capital, getting the best employees possible so we can reduce human error, but also utilize the tools necessary, like more innovation and more technology. And we're looking to get more help from the commonwealth as well. We are supportive of a bill that will likely be filed by Delegate Mike Jones that will provide the sellers commission to those restaurants and business owners who collect the meals tax who might be not in good standing. You lose good standing when you are delinquent, and we want to make sure that you have the ability to still meet your payroll and have cash flow by providing a sales commission for those who may fall out of good standing. I think that's very, very important. So tools from the commonwealth, investment in human capital, investment and more technology, and I think we can get to a resolution on some of this."
Layne:
"And just to be clear, you do believe you're leaving City Hall in a good position when your term is up?"
Stoney:
"Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Look at what the city looked like 10 to 20 years ago. Talk to any resident who's been here for 30-40 years."
Layne:
"We do."
Stoney:
"Right? And look what Richmond was 10 years ago. Sometimes we have amnesia, and we sometimes fall prey to thinking perfect is the enemy of good. I can guarantee you, your top dollar, that Richmond is better than it was a decade ago."
Layne:
"And that's what you're hearing from the residents themselves?"
Stoney:
"Oh, without a doubt. I mean, people are moving here for a reason. People are choosing Richmond. Now, there was a time in Richmond history when people didn't choose Richmond. They chose somewhere else to live. They're choosing to live here, and I think it's for a reason. And here's the thing, we don't do it all. Sometimes elected officials take credit for every single thing that happens in their city limits. I'm not saying we should do that. However, we contribute to the success of the city. We contribute to the success of the city, and I can guarantee anyone, this government is far better than it was a decade ago."
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