RICHMOND, Va. — Members of Richmond City Council offered mixed reactions to the city administration’s efforts to transform the finance department after it was the subject of criticism over tax collection and billing issues.
Earlier this year, dozens of restaurant owners came forward to express frustration with unexpected and dramatic meals tax late fees and accounting concerns , which put the finance department’s operations under the spotlight.
“I do think the meals tax issue that we had at the beginning of this year was sort of a tipping point, and at that time, council did work closely with the mayor’s office to put in some financial reform,” Council President Kristen Nye said.
In recent years, the department also sent incorrect personal property tax bills to tens of thousands of residents and was under investigation by the inspector general’s office for allegedly failing to notify taxpayers of credits on their accounts.
“I think a lot of the headlines we’ve been seeing over the last several months have been indicating a challenge within the operations of our Finance Department and other core functions related to how we bill our residents, businesses, etc.,” Councilmember Andreas Addison said.