RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond's Finance Director Sheila White gave her most comprehensive public report to the city council since her department was the target of an influx of taxpayers complaints at the beginning of the year.
White even summarized her updates as "the most honest finance presentation you've ever had" and did not hold back from addressing the department's shortcomings.
“We are missing the mark, and I’m not happy with the level of customer service we’ve provided," White said.
White referenced a CBS 6 story in her slideshow about a secretly recorded staff meeting following the terminations of some employees. In audio shared with CBS 6, White was heard expressing disappointment to her employees about the state of the organization.
“You need to know the report is accurate. Yes, I have fired people. I have a standard of excellence that I expect employees to meet. Yes, I told my team we are not hitting the mark. I said it because it's true," White said.
WATCH: Richmond Finance Director holds meeting after employee firings, tells staff: 'We're not hitting the mark'
The finance department has been criticized by dozens of business owners who started coming forward eight months ago with frustrations over what they called unfair meals tax late fees and collection practices.
Inaccurate personal property tax bills, accounting errors, confusion over taxpayer credits, and a broken cash reconciliation process were also subjects of internal audits and inspector general investigations in recent years.
“This is a picture of chaos, and it illustrates how we got to where we are today. The chaos didn't happen overnight, and it will not be fixed overnight," White said.
In her presentation, White put a heavy emphasis on the past, recognizing that when she came to the city as a deputy director in 2020 and became director in 2021, the finance department was in a state of disarray.
She cited a history of leadership turnover, lack of accountability, understaffing, paper-based systems, and a culture of silos among employees.
“Finance best practices have not been utilized. Software and system upgrades were neglected. Key management staff lacked the skills needed for the job," White said.
In fact, she said 53% of her workers have less than three years of professional experience.
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But White outlined several steps she's taking to fix the issues.
She hired consultant Anne Seward at $200 per hour to make recommendations, and White credited her for improvements to day-to-day operations.
Additionally, White said she initiated a reorganization, increased staff capacity, developed new standard operating procedures, automated systems, and expanded customer service. She also launched employee monitoring controls and continuous auditing to track the progress of ongoing changes.
White said she created several new high-level positions in her department and will sign off on all new hires. Currently, she still needs to fill 33 customer service vacancies and multiple leadership positions.
To conclude her presentation, she warned the city council that replacing her would be harmful to the city.
The comment appeared to be a response to a recent forum where all city council candidates, including current city council members Ann-Frances Lambert, Ellen Robertson, Cynthia Newbille, and Nicole Jones, said they did not support keeping White on the job. Of note, the finance director is not selected by the city council. City directors report to the chief administrative officer, who is appointed by the mayor and is responsible for managing all City Hall operations.
“Putting in a new finance director will more certainly disrupt the work in progress and revert the to the dysfunction the city has experienced in the past," White said.
WATCH: Richmond may owe you money. But is the city telling business owners who overpay?
Most councilors offered a generally supportive reaction to White's report, except Ellen Robertson.
“This is better now than never, but this is damn sure a day late and dollar short," Robertson said.
Robert pointed her frustrations toward Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders and accused him of not providing complete and timely information about the finance department to the council.
She said her constituents are upset over tax-related issues and said "what the administration does" affects her chances of getting re-elected.
“This is mismanagement of the taxpayers' dollars, no fault of your staff, but a fault that ultimately rests with every member of this council if we don't take the obligation and responsibility to make darn sure that we fix it," Robertson said.
Meanwhile, City Council President Kristen Nye said she's appreciative that White is "acknowledging the problem."
Nye said she has started to notice finance improvements based on internal emails and feedback from citizens.
"I know it's hard being in a public position in a very high-profile office, probably even harder in an election year. However, I just want to say, personally, in my seat that I sit in, I've seen a lot of progress over the last two months," Nye said.
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