Big changes to Richmond’s charter put on hold

The city of Richmond won't ask the next General Assembly to fix some of the issues in the city charter that were at the root of clashes between then-Mayor L. Douglas Wilder and City Council.

Despite nearly a year's work by a review commission, council members agreed last night to hold off seeking state approval of potentially controversial changes relating to who has the authority to appoint the city attorney, the city auditor and the city assessor, and how the appointment of the chief administrative officer is handled.

Citing the cooperative tone set by Mayor Dwight C. Jones, the council suggested that it proceed with only a few, less-thorny recommendations, offered in large part by the City Charter Review Commission and supported by the mayor.

One would allow the council to hire its legislative staff, which would be separate from the administrative staff that reports to the mayor-appointed chief administrative officer. Another would broaden the mayor's veto power to any ordinance, including ones relating to the sale and lease of land and buildings, subject to the council's override.

"We're going to proceed with the ones we agree on. The rest, we have to have more discussion," Council President Kathy C. Graziano said.

Jones agrees that there's no reason to rush needlessly and is committed to working with council members to resolve the issues, said Suzette P. Denslow, the mayor's chief of staff.

Of the issues being set aside for further talks, Jones is most interested in having the mayor, not the council, be the one to appoint the city attorney because, Denslow said, the vast majority of the office's work is for the administration. Currently, the city attorney, the city auditor and the city assessor are appointed solely by the council.

The charter commission has recommended giving the mayor authority to appoint the attorney subject to the approval of the majority of the council. It also would give the council the authority to appoint the city auditor and city assessor subject to the approval of the mayor.

The council is expected to adopt its legislative requests Monday.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .