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Sept. 20 Newsletter: Real estate tax debate turns heated

Weather: A high of 84, but otherwise quite pleasant

On this date in 1965, Rector Robert A. Wilson predicted that by 1980 Richmond Professional Institute would become an "urban university" with more than 23,000 students. His vision became reality at VCU in 1990.

Testy council meeting ends with no action on tax rate, at Stoney administration's request

A Richmond City Council committee chose not to take action on a pair of competing proposals on the city’s real estate tax rate Thursday after Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration said it needed more time to study the issue, Graham Moomaw reports.

The committee’s inaction infuriated City Councilor Reva Trammell (8th District). She had proposed lowering the tax rate by 4 cents, a plan that could potentially reduce the average residential tax bill by $150 next year.

“This is more important than anything on your damn agenda,” Trammell told the committee chair as she tried to move on to other business.

When asked by The Richmonder why the Stoney administration didn’t have fiscal impact estimates available for Thursday’s meeting, CAO Lincoln Saunders said he and his team weren’t just crunching the numbers for the current budget. He said they’re also looking at how a rate reduction would impact long-term spending obligations.

Saunders said the administration shares concerns about homeowners being displaced by rising tax bills, but is pursuing more targeted ways to address that issue that don’t involve lower taxes across the board. 

Read more, including when council might take up the issue

'This is absolutely existential': Local theater must raise $600k in 11 days

Virginia Repertory Theatre sent patrons an email on Thursday morning with a dire warning: The company is in imminent danger of closing.

The theater is dealing with a number of issues that are being experienced on a national scale, but also has problems unique to its circumstance, primarily a contentious parting with longtime managing director and co-founder Phil Whiteway last year. The parties reached an undisclosed legal settlement in May.

"Basically, when I arrived I discovered that we were without cash," said Klaus Schuller, the Rep's new managing director, told Michael Phillips.

"I didn't move my family to Richmond, Virginia, to close a theater company," Schuller said. "I and everyone here are going to fight like hell to make sure we are still here."

Read more, including early returns from the fundraising effort

At Mayo Bridge meeting, citizens call for two-lane design, protected bike lanes

A two-lane bridge and a protected bike lane — those were the two most common asks for the new Mayo Bridge across the James River, said Scott Fisher, the mega-projects engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Richmond division, at a public information session in Manchester Tuesday evening, Sarah Vogelsong reports. 

VDOT classifies the aged bridge as “structurally deficient,” and the city has been considering replacing all or part of it for more than a decade. 

“I hate it. I can’t stand it,” said Luke Hollomon, who said he uses the bridge at least three times a week. “As a cyclist, there’s no way to be safe.” 

Read more, including diagrams of the three proposed options for the new bridge

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Early voting starts today. Here’s how to vote in Richmond

Richmonders can now cast ballots in person at the city’s election office located at 2134 West Laburnum Ave.

Read more, including a full list of voting locations

Iron Blossom returns to Richmond for second year

The Iron Blossom Music Festival is set to take place Saturday and Sunday at Midtown Green (formerly the Bon Secours Washington Football Training Center). The festival’s lineup, including headliners of Caamp and Mt. Joy, will draw in concertgoers from Richmond and beyond. Read more

A major national golf tournament rolls into Richmond this weekend

Play begins Saturday at two area golf courses in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, the premier event for non-professional golfers over the age of 25.

The event crowns the best among golfers who never pursued professional careers. Three Richmonders will compete: John Rosenstock, Jordan Utley and Andrew Crowley. Read more

In other news...

The editor's desk

A few weeks before we launched, we asked you to fill out a survey about what you wanted out of The Richmonder. We're grateful for all of you who took the time - themes that emerged were a desire to go deeper on big issues in the community, and to avoid having "clickbait" articles on the website. Please hold us accountable as we seek to do that in the coming weeks.

We promised five survey takers would win Richmonder t-shirts, and last night randomly drew winners out of the 486 responses. Congrats to Kevin K., Joseph R., Peter Z., Molly B. and Greg P. You've got an email asking for your shirt size.

(If you didn't win, don't worry, we'll make Richmonder t-shirts available to the masses soon.)

Enjoy your weekend!

Michael Phillips, Founding Editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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