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New General Services department cites $295M in deferred maintenance; FY26 CIP covers about 4%
Summary
Director Gail Johnson told the committee that Richmond’s consolidated General Services department is updating facility condition assessments and estimates $295 million in deferred maintenance; the FY26 generalized capital maintenance budget allocates about $11 million to those needs.
Gail Johnson, director of the newly formed Department of General Services, told the committee the 2019 facility condition assessments showed approximately $295 million in deferred maintenance across the portfolio of city buildings. Johnson said the department is updating assessments, implementing new facility-management software and prioritizing work based on risk and funding.
Johnson said the generalized capital maintenance program, created in FY2023 to consolidate project funding and allow flexibility for emergency or unplanned needs, has averaged roughly $4.5 million per year previously. For FY26 the generalized capital maintenance appropriation totals $16.1 million, of which about $11.0 million is dedicated to General Services facilities. Johnson said that level covers only about 4% of the estimated deferred maintenance need identified in the 2019 assessment.
She told the committee the three most deficient buildings identified in 2019 were City Hall, the John Marshall Court Building, and the Main Library (all graded poor under the facility condition index used in the assessment). The department has already done work at some of those sites and expects newer assessments to show improvements once the updated data are compiled.
Johnson described the distinction between preventive maintenance (routine scheduled work), capital maintenance (longer-term projects to extend useful life), and deferred maintenance (needed work delayed for financial or scheduling reasons). She said a new software tool will help the department prioritize projects, model facility condition index (FCI) changes, and request appropriate CIP funding.
Council members asked about the economics of repairing aging systems versus replacement (for example, replacing riser valves or a roof at the John Marshall building). Johnson said each large project will be evaluated case-by-case and that some must be done when systems are at failure risk. She offered to provide the committee a detailed plan for the FY26 generalized capital maintenance allocation.
Johnson said facilities work is currently about 30% in‑house and 70% contracted, and that staffing and recruiting shortages—particularly for trades—limit the department’s ability to expand in‑house work quickly.
The committee received the update and asked staff for the FY26 general services maintenance plan and additional detail on priority projects and expected operating‑budget savings from targeted capital investments.
