Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council reviews proposal to raise strategic acquisition fund and add dedicated grant and legislative staff
Summary
Staff asked the council to consider increasing annual strategic‑acquisition funding (from about $750,000 toward $1,000,000) and discussed creating a citywide grant writer and a full‑time legislative liaison; cost estimates and offsets were presented.
Staff presented a cluster of early proposals focused on economic development and administrative capacity. The strategic acquisition item would increase annual funds used to assemble and hold land for major redevelopment (staff said the city currently budgets about $750,000 per year and the proposal identifies a possible increase toward $1,000,000 that could be phased). “We currently have about $750,000 budgeted each year. And this one, you know, identifies potentially up to 1000000,” staff said while inviting council feedback about the appropriate size of the fund.
Staff also proposed adding a citywide grant writer (estimated compensation and benefits around $90,000 annually) to centralize grant‑seeking and a legislative liaison staff position (estimated ~$125,000 including benefits). The city manager noted existing contractual costs with lobbyists (roughly $54,000 for state work and $48,000 for federal representation) could be reallocated if the council preferred a full‑time in‑house liaison. Several council members voiced support for an in‑house legislative presence to build continuity in Richmond outreach.
