Richmond council, school board push for state funds

Minus Richmond's current and future mayor, members of the City Council and School Board pressed tonight their priorities for the 2009 General Assembly session.

The dinner discussion touched on a range of topics but was dominated by a hope that lawmakers would limit the impact of potentially severe budget cuts on critical services, including education and public safety.

"We are asking that there will be special consideration on the part of the legislature this year" for Richmond and other cities, City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson said.

Members of the city's General Assembly delegation promised to do what they could but said it's impossible to even predict how deep the cuts will have to be.

"It's very difficult for us to know what funding we'll have to work with because the projections keep changing," Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, told the gathering at the downtown headquarters of SunTrust.

He encouraged local officials to tell lawmakers what funding they need and to not limit requests based on the sputtering economy.

Del. Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond, said lawmakers may end up offering relief on state mandates, such as class sizes, and he encouraged input on what flexibility would be most helpful.

Mayor-elect Dwight Clinton Jones, currently a member of the House of Delegates, did not attend, nor did Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. Wilder planned to skip the dinner "out of deference to the mayor-elect," spokesman Linwood Norman said.

Jones was represented by former Commonwealth's Attorney David Hicks, who is chairman of Jones' transition team. Hicks said he did not know where Jones was and he said Jones was not ready to comment on legislative priorities. One of council's requests would switch from the mayor to the council the power to appoint members of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.

"We're just in the information-gathering mode," Hicks said. "Obviously, these are the most challenging times because of the economic times we're in."

Also today, Jones' transition team was briefed by the Wilder administration on the city's finances but officials would not discuss details of the meeting.

"It'll be one of many meetings over the next several weeks," transition team spokesman Kevin O'Holleran said. Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .