City Council ducking responsibility to require full accounting of upwards of $1 million dollars

Goldman for Mayor - 6 May 2008 - For Immediate Release

After months of tough talk, City Council still refusing to meet it's responsibilities under section § 4.16 of the City Charter despite finding that nearly $ 1 Million dollars in public money has been wasted, if not illegal spent

(Richmond) - Paul Goldman, candidate for Mayor and author of the original Elected Mayor law ballot referendum, said today the report of the Council's investigatory committee into what it concedes is the waste of nearly $ 1 million dollars continues a pattern of months of tough talk from City Council, yet a continued "refusal by Council to meet it's responsibilities under the City Charter, offering again more proof that Council's failed oversight is encouraging waste in city government."

"Whoever said talk is cheap wasn't living in Richmond at the time" said Mr. Goldman. " The people of Richmond once again see that the cost of lip service, that the cost of City Council talking tough but failing to meet the responsibilities given it - not once but twice - under the new form of government has contributed to what Council Bruce Tyler concedes is a culture of city government complacency, which he himself said was a close second cousin to corruption."

In a statement, Mr. Goldman continued:

" The people are paying millions for this culture of complacency. The original Elected Mayor law enacted in 2004 included City Charter section § 4.16, a provision that includes the basic checks and balances long regarded as necessary to prevent millions of dollars of wasteful spending by city government. This provision, entitled "Powers of investigation" has long been approved by the General Assembly of Virginia.

Then again, in 2006, this same City Charter section § 4.16, entitled "Powers of investigation", was re-enacted with a few minor technical corrections.

Mayor Wilder supported it, City Council supported it, the General Assembly of Virginia passed it, and Governor Kaine signed it.

They knew section § 4.16 was necessary to protect the public treasury and to make it clear to the people of Richmond that their tax dollars would be protected, not only because such specific instances like "Fiasco Friday" might involve hugely wasteful, if not illegal expenditures, but in addition, a failure of oversight on part of City Council or City Hall would encourage the very culture of governmental complacency that leads to more and more wasting of the people's money.

As the head of the Council's investigatory committee concedes, the Council still has failed to meet it's responsibilities under section § 4.16.

We need to end the culture of complacency not only in city government, but likewise the one apparently operating on City Council because once again, we have proof that it is costing the people of Richmond millions of dollars.

Talk is not, and has not, been cheap in Richmond: it is time for City Council to meet it's responsibilities as envisioned by the people, the General Assembly and the Governor when section § 4.16 was enacted."

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