City finance officials outline $729M budget, defend RFCY and encampment spending at RNCC meeting

City of Richmond finance officials presented a detailed budget briefing to the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council on April 13, saying the city’s total budget across all funds is about $729 million and that the general fund for fiscal year 25–26 is roughly $266 million.

Jerry Guru, accounting manager in the budget and treasury division, told attendees that the city has met its 21% minimum reserves target, has $296 million in grants awarded and about $211 million allocated to capital improvement projects. "The city has a total budget of $729 million across all funds," Guru said as he and Deputy Director of Finance Mubin Carter walked through departmental allocations and the budget calendar.

Why it matters: neighborhood leaders pressed staff on how new and existing revenue will be distributed to community priorities, from public safety and sidewalks to youth services funded through the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth (RFCY). The RFCY program — authorized by ballot measure and now funded for multiple years — drew particular scrutiny because of differing published totals and questions about near‑term reporting.

Deputy City Manager Lese White and finance staff told the RNCC that RFCY had a multi‑year authorization and that the city intends to publish annual reports going forward. Lese White said an evaluation covering the first three years (roughly FY21–24) is already posted and that fiscal reporting for 2025 will be released when it is finalized. Finance staff clarified that the council approved a three‑year allocation that provides approximately $6.7 million per year to RFCY (to be distributed to about 37 organizations) for FY25–28, and that longer 10‑year projections discussed in the meeting reflect future projections rather than current‑year appropriations.

Encampment and housing spending also drew questions. Finance and community‑services staff described three rounds of state encampment resolution grants, noting that round two totaled about $8.6 million. City staff said that encampment outreach in that round contacted 99 people and that roughly 78 of them were placed into housing or housing‑related services; residents asked what happened to the remainder and whether per‑person expenditures were reasonable. Community‑services staff and Michelle Milm of RPD explained that encampment resolution grants pay for rental assistance, supportive services and other interventions and that the figure represents grant totals across the grant term (not necessarily the per‑person annual cost). "It costs more than $20,000 per person per year" for some long‑term supports, Milm said, noting that the program mixes rental assistance, case management and one‑time supports.

Other budget notes: staff said the city recently closed an audit with no findings for FY24–25, maintained credit ratings (Moody’s A3 and S&P AA‑) and is budgeting to continue pension pre‑funding and capital investments. Finance staff also confirmed the budget process timeline: a community budget meeting set for April 22, a first draft of the FY26–27 budget to city council on May 5 and planned adoption in late June (June 23 currently listed).

What’s next: staff invited neighborhood councils to the April 22 community budget meeting and promised more granular RFCY and encampment reporting. Staff also offered to return with RFCY program details and expenditure reports on request.