[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6661864,"mediaKeyId","2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a","parentId",2405744,"title","Council's Government Operations committee presses for routine audit visibility; requests overtime and vacancy reports ahead of budget","audioSeconds",1191,"startMs",5679000,"endMs",6870000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a&start=5679&end=6870","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a/thumbnail_5679000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6661864/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Councils-Government-Operations-committee-presses-for-routine-audit-visibility-requests-overtime-and-vacancy-reports-ahead-of-budget","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661864-161f7af9c87c2723c1e314a638c8fd7d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771190412&Signature=Xnw1kD3Oo65ZClbjjxhfwKwwDCppwAoKesk1aXJxy-T~zZZdHe-VOPHudSb1dQ3KgCowmjR60NjHw1wQWljwny3vZcxwVSAw0rLlvB8Whz7aH7cslSLLrZTEyO2jyEJ8r0MYRIMUVB9SKrx7fMNbM8ptSlYFWNLQx7z0CRTMrA4gWE6sl1Bikzfg2kBKHspfaZDHGkQEN0F53mLN3m7QKIgE49nd2b5NqNn6f~VC09V3NhoBe0nGBDuoS81FYCHngYOehpX1I-R1TjMNSIXR4~6XnKPSumfxXWbDU2vLivtR9HIum7tJxLYSBAYqxaPyqYCAao-dTvxbOaBhLChSVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Richmond City","date","2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","article","The committee discussed audit oversight, the calendar of committee topics and the monthly overtime and vacancy reporting that council members said should be made publicly accessible and included in agendas as the city heads into budget season.

Brianna Ali, the city auditor, explained the audit-committee process and the office's recent work to improve recommendation tracking. \"Our audit committee is made up of seven members... five are citizen members,\" she told the committee, adding that the committee meets quarterly and that audits and recommendations are discussed in public sessions. Ali said her office moved to a more continuous process of issuing recommendations and following up on implementation and that departments must provide evidence to close items.

Why it matters: council members said they want regular, visible tracking of open audit recommendations and of overtime and vacancy trends as inputs to budget decisions and to improve accountability.

Overtime report and audit follow-up

Committee members noted that the monthly overtime report (required by an earlier council resolution) had been emailed but not posted to the committee agenda; one member said the January report listed an individual paid about $25,000 in overtime for that month. Members asked that the monthly overtime reports be posted to agendas going forward and for the administration to provide context (for example, whether overtime was driven by vacancies, planned capital projects, or extraordinary events such as the water outage).

Ali said her office is scheduled to conduct an overtime compliance audit this fiscal year to examine root causes and policy effectiveness; she said a policy change adopted late last year aimed to curb overtime and that the audit will test its impact. Adam Hall, a policy adviser, told the committee administration can supply the existing monthly reports and agreed to send them to the full committee distribution list rather than only to the chair and vice chair.

Audit committee structure and access

Ali advised that the audit committee receives the detailed audit presentations and that the city auditor and the independent inspector general both report to the audit committee, a public body. She recommended focusing council oversight where priorities are highest and suggested council members could concentrate review on high-priority recommendations. The committee asked the auditor's office to coordinate a joint update with the inspector general at a forthcoming meeting because their work overlaps on many issues.

Next steps and calendar items

Committee members asked that vacancy and overtime reports be provided as part of the March meeting so council can review trends before the mayor's budget presentation. Staff agreed to confirm availability of human-resources staff to present and to post existing monthly reports to the committee agenda to allow members and the public to review them ahead of the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Richmond City - Governmental Operations Standing Committee on 2025-02-26 1:00 PM - To access the meeting via Microsoft Teams, please use the following link: https://tinyurl.com/GovOps-Feb-26 or dial *67-804-316-9457 and enter ID:488 923 562# - Feb 26, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Committee members and the city auditor discussed quarterly audit reporting, public access to open recommendations, and monthly overtime and vacancy reporting after members flagged high overtime payouts and asked for those reports to be added to committee agendas.","taxTitle","Richmond City (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",5755,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6661869,"RVA 311 sees sustained call spike after January water crisis; city plans dispatch pilot and self-service expansions",1177,3663000,4840000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a&start=3663&end=4840","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a/thumbnail_3663000.jpg","/articles/6661869/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/RVA-311-sees-sustained-call-spike-after-January-water-crisis-city-plans-dispatch-pilot-and-self-service-expansions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661869-d93d68e48794cdc8190784f296dc9119/orig.mp4?Expires=1771190412&Signature=fyFtp1PkonKTjzYB6VJyhF8bULj376LXZcpsZrCVCRGKkjoxZPrU2DtK3fkKAE7eRSuDTjtDewcYxjq~MikEYycs99F0-wCz8ErfJ2jw-gMLDWNKtq90fZ3sKTAbYlgPrI56P4mMWRAq6VRioF3aIKLAsWUs10JkkqvGI0SsExKJi9mk3~9qI1rBE1wXnk~A9p08n7bq9FVBlnP1S4cemwqHwIfgHMXta7qyTmzL6Ah4LvQprCny~O1h5WOSZVBO15eofgLJ~WwmRqVCwmI8cHsXgLrvfUQGImS8OfwU3SCYxRv12Jc04ZoRW~mZYRif2ZYUNRfgqaLXona0G0GgPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Peter Bridal, director of Citizen Service and Response, briefed the Government Operations Committee on RVA 311 performance, capacity and planned upgrades, saying the city has expanded both staff and functionality and is monitoring a post-January surge in demand.

Bridal told the committee, \"In 2024, we received over 200,000 calls. We answered over 160,000.\" He said the city's call-center team has exceeded a 94% call-quality target for several years, achieving about 95% under current measures, and that 2024 produced roughly 75,000 requests in the RVA 311 system.

Why it matters: the 311 system is the city's primary intake and case-management tool. Bridal said consistent use of RVA 311 creates a time-stamped record that allows departments to track and fulfill requests and enables council members to see district-level trends.

Key metrics and recent changes

- Volume and distribution: Bridal said call volume averaged about 800 calls per day in recent years; since the January water outage the center has seen averages over 1,200 calls per day and is watching whether that uptick is a long-term trend. He said about 40% of calls relate to social services, roughly 30% to finance and under 20% to public works.

- Staffing and hours: the 311 office has staffed up (about 50% above its original FY24 budgeted headcount for the call center) and extended weekday hours until 7 p.m. with Saturday morning coverage. The center's capacity was increased to handle about 900 calls per day.

- New features and service measures: callbacks were enabled in November so callers need not remain on hold; an after-call customer survey launched recently and early results across 1,166 responses showed an average score of 4.6 out of 5 for agent service. Bridal also highlighted that the city stood up online access for the family crisis fund and \"by Monday, we had over 2,200 requests,\" which was handled through the RVA 311 portal.

Integration and pilot to reduce duplicative dispatch

Bridal said the city wants to reduce duplicated systems and simplify how residents contact city services. Currently some real-time field responses (for example, downed trees, loose dogs or urgent public-safety nuisances) are handled through a separate nonemergency police number because 311 is not integrated with dispatch. \"We are looking at integrating the two systems so that we could take those requests,\" Bridal said, describing a pilot to connect 311 with dispatch to let 311 refer or route incidents that need a field response.

He said the two vendor systems are both cloud subscriptions and that the city owns both, but he cautioned that a narrow pilot is needed to work out operational considerations before full implementation.

Process, transparency and next steps

Bridal said 30% of requests currently come in via self-service and that the administration seeks to move more transactions online (for example, finance billing and payments through RVA Pay). He also noted challenges when requests are closed without plain-language comments and said staff are working with departments to ensure closure comments explain whether a request is a duplicate, closed after investigation with \"no action warranted,\" or moved into the permitting/tracking system with a case number.

The committee asked about outsourcing and technology: Bridal said the call-center staff are city employees (not outsourced) and that the RVA 311 platform is a single vendor (AvePoint citizen service) that provides external portal, mobile apps and internal case-management tools. Bridal requested patience while his office pilots dispatch integration and said he will continue to monitor daily call volumes to decide if additional staffing is needed.

Bridal offered training for council liaisons and neighborhood groups on using the portal and said district-level insight dashboards are available to council members and the public through RVA 311 profiles.","The city's 311 operation reported rising call volumes since January, expanded hours and new features such as callbacks and post-call surveys, and is planning a pilot to integrate dispatch so nonemergency field requests can be routed without duplicative systems.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6661872,"Preliminary HNTB report pins Richmond water-plant outage on power transfer failure; city to operate in \"summer mode\" year-round",2250,1300000,3550000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a&start=1300&end=3550","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405744-b8bfbe6e6cf156305bccab0e40c2271a/thumbnail_1300000.jpg","/articles/6661872/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Preliminary-HNTB-report-pins-Richmond-water-plant-outage-on-power-transfer-failure-city-to-operate-in-summer-mode-year-round","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661872-e486f7015c8478566fd0a58c922487d3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771190412&Signature=oJdTWje9at5xKpBX07DdefX8Yi2cpN3i-fJDNTQRvpJmP7o6Sbtxt69uat03fTiVVTBnhcOOavv19yC7LjlJOI4vfmWB3FCgX7r54vw1wmBLppnnjqBvmSFm~cKCbCBDGnC7PcTjTW47kEhZ0tgU7zUVEyq46c~aw~Af4PhYhdlgxN1-z-~GLbUPS5QUOyb-xizcmFJdWwmKAujXOmMzWjX7GlOyOA0GveltGhxoWqf6ZlJ-PGrw1WMDz3ao6SwylqJT1Hy0qTVs2MhsKOfzQT0h6zHU1x4YXSaREZ-KwxXMY7twXdqlE5ernp0oCO5WdC9QO6Yo-qgSiyTISwzOSg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Government Operations Committee heard a presentation on preliminary findings from HNTB on the January water-treatment-plant outage, where city staff said the plant experienced a complete loss of power that led to about 36 hours of outage and flooding in the basement that damaged equipment.

The preliminary report, summarized by Anthony Scott Morris, the city's director of public utilities, found that a bus tie failed to transfer power from the primary feed to the secondary feed, and that an effluent valve and UPS-related failures contributed to the loss of service. \"The water treatment plant experienced a complete loss of power,\" Morris said during the Feb. committee meeting. He told council members that the plant had been operating in a \"winter mode\" at the time of the failure and that operating in that configuration presented a single point of failure.

Why it matters: the outage prompted emergency deliveries, a state of emergency declaration and separate state-level scrutiny. Committee members pressed staff for detail on accountability, operational changes and cost estimates ahead of the city's March budget schedule.

HNTB recommendations and city response

Morris listed the chief recommendations identified in the preliminary HNTB report: operate the plant in a more-redundant \"summer mode\" going forward; develop a bus-tie failure plan; implement severe-storm response protocols; install filter effluent valves and UPS devices with a minimum one-hour run time; add SCADA monitoring; expand and digitize standard operating procedures (SOPs) and train staff; review staffing toward adding one operator per shift; raise electrical equipment above basement flood levels where practical; and provide an automatic transfer switch for existing backup generators.

Morris said plant staff have revised and begun training on a bus-tie failure SOP and that about 53 SOPs across the plant will be updated and rolled out with initial and recurring training. \"We are always operating in a summer mode from this point on,\" Morris told the committee, describing summer mode as the more redundant configuration that avoids the single-point failure seen in winter mode.

On hardware projects, Morris said the automatic transfer switch project is under way and is expected to be substantially complete with generator service by November 2025. He also described a planned sequence of field tests for new UPS units and valve actuators and annual verification thereafter.

Reports, access and parallel reviews

Morris told the committee that HNTB has had broad access to staff interviews, communications and as-built documents the consultants requested. He said an interim HNTB report was expected \"within a week or so,\" with a more detailed final report following within roughly a month. Morris added that the Virginia Department of Health's investigation was receiving the same information to ensure consistent review across agencies.

Committee members asked why the preliminary report did not address backup generator engagement; Morris said the preliminary work focused on the immediate cause and that generator engagement would be examined in the interim and final reports.

Costs and timeline for a full accounting

When asked about money spent so far, Morris said the mayor had referenced about $5,000,000 in expenditures related to actuators and related work and that a comprehensive accounting of all costs for remediation and upgrades would be provided after full restoration. He offered an interim cost summary as early as April 2025 but said a complete tally tied to all recommended projects would likely be available by November 2025, when the automatic transfer switch project is projected to be complete.

Remaining questions and oversight

Council members pressed on whether past decisions to operate in winter mode were avoidable and what steps the city would take to demonstrate future reliability to the Virginia Office of Drinking Water. Morris said he could not speak to earlier managerial choices but that the administration and he had agreed to the continuous summer-mode operation and to adopt additional staffing, SOP and infrastructure changes to increase resilience. Council members asked for the HNTB interim and final reports to be made available to the council agenda for public transparency and for HNTB to return to present and answer questions.

What happens next

Morris and administration officials said they intend to make interim materials available to council and that HNTB and city staff will continue follow-up briefings to committees and oversight bodies. The committee also requested clearer timing for when follow-up documents and cost summaries would be posted to agenda materials as the city prepares its March budget proposal.

(Questions and discussion in the committee also referenced the EPA's earlier 2022 recommendations and parallel oversight by the Virginia Office of Drinking Water and the Virginia Department of Health.)","City staff presented preliminary findings from HNTB showing a complete power loss and a failed bus tie at the James River water treatment plant, with recommendations including permanent operation in \"summer mode,\" SOP updates, UPS installation and an automatic transfer switch project expected in November 2025.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council's Government Operations committee presses for routine audit visibility; requests overtime and vacancy reports ahead of budget

RVA 311 sees sustained call spike after January water crisis; city plans dispatch pilot and self-service expansions

Preliminary HNTB report pins Richmond water-plant outage on power transfer failure; city to operate in "summer mode" year-round