
Members of the audience at the public hearing on the meals tax increase stand to express support. (Photo by Sarah King)
The Richmond City Council approved Mayor Levar Stoney’s proposed 1.5 percent meals tax increase late Monday evening on a 7-2 vote.
Around 11 p.m. — after more than an hour and a half of public comment, last-ditch efforts to delay the vote and a change of heart by two district representatives — the council voted on the proposal. Kim Gray, of the 2nd District, and Kristen Larson, 4th District, opposed the measure.
“I would just like to reiterate our association’s support of the meals tax,” said Laura Lafayette, the CEO of the Richmond Association of Realtors, about halfway through public comment in favor of the tax. “And I would ask that everyone in support would stand for the City Council to see.” In response, a large number of the more than 200 people in attendance stood up.
The proposal will raise more than $9 million in revenue by increasing the meals tax from 6 to 7.5 percent (bringing the total tax, with the state sales tax, to 12.8 percent at city restaurants) and free up an additional $150 million in debt capacity for funding school upgrades. Advocates for the increase included parents, teachers, students and the new superintendent, Jason Kamras. Also present were School Board members Dawn Page, chairwoman and 8th District representative; Cheryl Burke, 7th District; Linda Owen, 9th District; and Liz Doerr, 1st District.
Thomas Jefferson High School and Binford Middle school students were some of the evening’s first speakers — the council agreed to let kids under age 18 speak first so they could go home and get to sleep — urged the council to vote in support of the tax so they could get new desks, fix the air conditioning units, get more smart boards and a “real football field,” as well as walls in classrooms and carpet on the floors.
Each student ended their testimony with the statement “As an RPS student, I can’t wait — please vote for the meals tax.”
Other supporters, too, donned the red and white T-shirts from the “Save our Schools” movement three years ago, and many others held up signs in red letters on a white background reading, "Vote yes, find the rest," when a fellow advocate would speak in favor of the tax.
Despite the more than 30 speakers in favor, the tax increase approval was not without challenges.
Larson proposed a "sunset amendment" that would retire the meals tax five years after it goes into effect in July of this year, but the proposal was met with some pushback.
“I think the sunset puts in a level of accountability our residents expect from us,” Larson said. “Whether it's us sitting in these seats in five years or somebody else. It gives the elected official a chance to look at it again and say ‘Yes, this works,’ or ‘No, it doesn’t.’ ”
Other council members and the administration pointed out that this may affect how the city pays the debt-service on a larger multimillion-dollar investment.
“For the record, we do oppose the amendment,” said Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn, “We’re used to honoring our debts. Any sunset would put us in a precarious position as we would be eliminating the revenue to pay off that $150 million.”
Michael Jones, 9th District, compared this to buying a house and “knowing I’m going to quit my job in five years.”
Others, meanwhile, expressed reservations about moving forward without more accountability measures taken into consideration.
Parker Agelasto, 5th District, launched into a lengthy monologue in which he systematically broke down his qualms with the tax — the biggest, perhaps, being that Stoney will hand over his budget to council in two days. Agelasto’s motion for a 30-day extension died on a 5-4 vote.
“I’m honestly at a point in this two-week discussion of feeling let down,” Agelasto said. “I’m struggling to get to ‘yes’ when I hear people say it’s not yet enough. I’ve received over 500 emails." He noted that $150 million is less than 20 percent of the amount needed: "That’s maybe four schools — of the 44 in the district.”
Agelasto also said he recalled a $50,000 ribbon cutting ceremony for Huguenot High School (“I don’t want a meals tax for a bunch of people to cut a ribbon”), untaxed areas of the city (VCU campus does not pay a meals tax), expensive city projects (the Redskins training camp, Main Street Station) and the cost of credit card processing fees and other taxes on business owners in addition to the meals tax.
“We don’t have any current data — two days would show us current data,” Agelasto said. “Wouldn’t you want to know what the current balance is before making a big decision?”
What all the council members did seem to agree on, however, was a need for greater transparency among city officials and the public knowing where exactly their dollars are being spent.
At one point, council President Chris Hilbert produced a piece of paper with his signature, pledging to immediately repeal the tax if he finds out any of the money isn't going directly to schools.
Many who spoke in opposition — primarily restaurant and small business owners — also cited transparency and trust issues, and asked the council to give the proposal more time in light of the budget and legislation working through the General Assembly. (The Senate on Monday passed a measure sponsored by Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-10th, based on the ballot referendum overwhelmingly approved by Richmond voters in November. It would require the mayor to propose a fully funded plan to improve school facilities without relying on a tax increase.)
”I vouched for the referendum and it passed in November; what we ask is that this body also honor it,” said Johnny Walker, a member of the Richmond Crusade for Voters — an organization founded when Virginia closed public schools to avoid integration, and last election helped get the referendum n the ballot. “All we’re asking for is. a delay. I’d like to commend my City Council representative for asking for a delay to give us time to absorb this — to give you time to absorb what you’re asking for — $150 million doesn’t come close to the $800 million dollars needed to fix up our schools.”
The owners of both movie theaters in town, the Byrd and Bow Tie Cinemas, both spoke as well — saying they were losing business to the counties because of how much concessions are taxed in the city, on top of an admissions tax for tickets.
As council members’ statements concluded, perhaps the most noteworthy remarks came from 8th District representative Reva Trammell. Last week, Trammell had been in staunch opposition to the tax going to a vote, especially after her motion to extend 30 days so she could talk to her constituents and better understand the implications of the tax on businesses in her district was shot down. She left that meeting looking heated.
In contrast, on Monday, Trammell said she changed her mind — but not because she was interested in a political play.
“I don’t think it was fair; I don’t think it was right; I just wanted a little bit more time to have a big district meeting,” Trammell said, before telling the audience she felt excluded from a separate, private meeting Stoney had with Page and Kamras without inviting her. Trammell said she met with folks in her district as fast as she could anyway.
“I’m not going to make this political; the mayor has his own agenda and has his own reasons for leaving me out. But I’m going to support this, do you know why? Because the people I talked to — they said they were going to eat out more if it helped the schools. … We have talked — over and over and over and over for years — are we were gonna do more and more and more — and we haven’t.
"That doesn’t mean changing the names of a school or new decorations; that means money going into the facilities plan."