The Richmond City Council’s Standing Finance and Economic Development Committee advanced reappointments and new candidates to several boards and commissions and agreed to continue consideration of changes to the Participatory Budgeting (PB) Steering Commission until January.

Committee members said they wanted broader district representation on boards and directed staff to coordinate briefings with council offices to streamline future recommendations.

Pamela Nichols, council management analyst, presented a vacancy report showing openings on the Economic Development Authority and other bodies. The committee moved to appoint Kenneth Smither to an Economic Development Authority seat representing the banking, lending or financial services community. For a residential/commercial mixed-use development seat, the committee recorded a recommendation to appoint Lamar Johnson. The committee also recommended reappointments for existing members where applicable, including Morris Cephas and Shirley Crawford to the Minority Business Enterprise emergency small business advisory board and reappointments to the local finance board from Michael Wynne and Tanika Jackson.

The committee placed the Participatory Budgeting steering commission item on hold to allow additional changes to be finalized and agreed to revisit the appointment slate in January. A motion to continue consideration of the PB item to January passed on a voice vote recorded as: Miss Lynch, Aye; Vice Chair Jones, Aye; Chair Robertson, Aye.

Committee members asked staff to coordinate briefings with council offices so future nomination recommendations would include district-representation analysis. Staff said they would work with council offices to set up schedules to review applications in advance.

Ending: Several appointments were approved and others held for further review. The committee indicated it will return to the remaining PB and tourism appointee questions in January.