Richmond City Council adopts revised personnel manual, amends animal-control rules and appoints city treasurer

Richmond — The Richmond City Council on March 17 unanimously adopted a new Employee Personnel Manual, approved an amendment to the city’s animal-control ordinance and appointed Melissa Titensor as Richmond City Treasurer, finishing formal business before adjourning at 6:51 p.m.

The council voted 4-0 to replace the existing personnel manual with a revised 64-page document that, according to City Recorder Justin Lewis, updates hiring and termination procedures and adds guidance on medical-marijuana policies. Councilmember Joel Draxler moved to adopt the manual; Councilmember Bryce Wood seconded. Lewis said the manual will be posted online after adoption.

The personnel changes include a council recommendation that employee raises be approved by the mayor and two council members and a revised personal time off (PTO) approach intended to discourage year-end cash-outs; the minutes record that the move is intended to encourage staff to use leave rather than accumulate it as additional income. The manual also allows for later amendment by the council.

The council also adopted Ordinance 2026-01 amending Title 13 (Police Department), Chapter 13-200 (Animal Control). Justin Lewis described the edits as housekeeping language that will not affect existing kennels; the ordinance removes a sentence that had required signed agreements from immediately adjacent neighbors for kennel applications and clarifies the status and licensing of de facto kennels. Councilmember Bryce Wood moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Joel Draxler seconded; the measure passed 4-0.

Councilmember Wood moved and the council approved, 4-0, the appointment of Joyce Littlewood to the Richmond City Library Board. Later, the council appointed longtime Richmond employee Melissa Titensor as city treasurer. Titensor summarized her background in accounting and payroll and holds QuickBooks and payroll certificates, according to the meeting minutes. Mayor Jeff Young said the reassignment is a lateral move with no immediate pay increase; the council’s vote to appoint Titensor was 4-0, and City Recorder Justin Lewis administered the Oath of Office.

Other routine business included approval of the Feb. 17, 2026, meeting minutes (motion by Councilmember Wood; second by Fran Schumann), which also passed 4-0. Staff reports and the monthly financial review were not presented due to time constraints; Mayor Young said the council chose to forgo the last two agenda items so attendees could participate in local caucus meetings.

In closing remarks, Mayor Jeff Young said the city is reviewing how records are stored and who has access, plans a transition to a .gov domain to improve data syncing, and is testing an AI recording tool to extract tasks and assignments from meetings. He noted that records will remain subject to the Government Records Access and Management Act and redactions will be applied when necessary.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of Feb. 17, 2026 meeting minutes — Moved: Bryce Wood; Second: Fran Schumann; Vote: 4-0 (Bair, Draxler, Schumann, Wood) — Outcome: approved. - Appointment of Joyce Littlewood to Richmond City Library Board — Moved: Bryce Wood; Second: Lyle Bair; Vote: 4-0 — Outcome: approved. - Appointment of Melissa Titensor as Richmond City Treasurer — Moved: Bryce Wood; Second: Joel Draxler; Vote: 4-0 — Outcome: approved; Oath of Office administered. - Adoption of Ordinance 2026-01 (amending Title 13 Police Department, Chapter 13-200 Animal Control) — Moved: Bryce Wood; Second: Joel Draxler; Vote: 4-0 — Outcome: adopted. - Adoption of revised Employee Personnel Manual — Moved: Joel Draxler; Second: Bryce Wood; Vote: 4-0 — Outcome: adopted.

The council adjourned at 6:51 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 21, 2026.