Council approves agenda amendments, adopts school funding work group resolution and photo-speed camera study; consent agenda passes

Richmond City Council on an evening meeting approved a slate of agenda amendments, adopted a resolution requesting the mayor’s office establish a work group to develop a school-funding allocation formula, and adopted an amended resolution supporting study and potential installation of photo speed monitoring devices at high-risk locations.

The council approved multiple continuances and amendments to ordinances and passed the consent agenda containing more than two dozen ordinances and resolutions. Council members voted verbally in favor during roll call for each action.

Why it matters: The council’s vote on a work group to develop an annual general fund funding formula for Richmond Public Schools commits the city to producing an implementation plan for the fiscal 2027 budget cycle. The vote on photo speed monitoring directs city staff to study additional locations for automated speed enforcement under state law and consider increasing deployment.

The council first adopted a set of agenda amendments that moved or continued numerous ordinances (including ordinance numbers 2024-312, 2025-014, 2025-032, 2025-046, 2025-079, 2025-080, 2025-081, 2025-113, 2025-120, 2025-136 and others) to later council meetings as detailed in the meeting packet. After accepting those amendments, the council moved through the consent agenda, which included (by item numbers as read into the record) ordinances 2025-078, 2025-084 and ordinances 20 25 121 through 143, and resolutions 2025-R023, 2025-R024, 2025-R025, 2025-R026 and 2025-R029.

The council then considered and amended Resolution 2025-R023 to change the date by which the chief administrative officer’s (CAO’s) implementation plan is due to the mayor, council and school board. Megan Brown, the city’s director of budget and strategic planning, told the council the amendment changes the recommendation date from Aug. 30 to Oct. 15 “just due to timing of when we were able to get the paper in and introduced.” The council approved the amendment and later adopted the resolution.

Councilmembers also amended and adopted Resolution 2024-R041, which expresses support for studying and potentially installing photo speed monitoring devices in high-risk intersections, citing the Virginia Code authority for automated speed monitoring. The amendment narrowed the scope of the study and asked the CAO to consider additional locations and increased deployment.

Roll-call style votes recorded in the meeting transcript show the council adopting these measures, with members saying “aye” during each recorded vote; the clerk announced that the papers “have been adopted.”

Less-critical items: The council approved minutes from prior meetings and introduced a list of ordinances for future action. Several specific ordinances were continued to council meetings on July 7, July 28 and Sept. 8 as announced.

Votes at a glance - Approval of remote participation: Council approved allowing Councilmember Ellen Robertson to participate via Microsoft Teams under council rules (motion approved by roll call). (See actions below.) - Agenda amendments: multiple ordinances continued or amended as announced (motion approved by roll call). - Consent agenda: passed (items listed in the meeting record were adopted by roll call). - Resolution 2025-R023 (school funding work group): amended (date change to Oct. 15) and adopted. - Resolution 2024-R041 (photo speed monitoring devices): amended and adopted.

The meeting record shows no recorded ‘‘no’’ votes on these items during the roll calls read into the transcript. Several items were continued for later council meetings, and the council directed staff follow-up where stated.