Today, after a thorough scrubbing with both responsible AI- and human-powered tools, the City posted the (now properly redacted) 2015–2019 payment register datasets to the Open Data Portal. You can access them here . The release of these data will be followed by the release of the equivalent dataset for FY25 in the coming months. 

These datasets were originally removed from the Open Data Portal several years ago due to the potential of unintentionally releasing sensitive and legally protected information (like residents’ Social Security Numbers). While, at the time, payment registry data went through a review process that relied on a combination of automated and manual redaction, there was still a risk that sensitive information could find its way into the Open Data Portal. To mitigate the risk, the datasets were removed and remained unpublished for several years. 

Then, this week, in an effort to restore resident, reporter, and City Council access to these datasets, the City of Richmond republished payment register data from 2015–2019. Soon after, the Department of Information Technology scanned the datasets for Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information using AI-powered tools. After finding about 60 Social Security Numbers, DIT, again, unpublished the dataset. Over the course of this week, staff from the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Finance have thoroughly scrubbed the 2015-2019 datasets and have now made them (safely) available to the public. 

Moving forward, Mayor Danny Avula has introduced ORD. 2026-081, which would update the legislation that requires publishing the payment registry data, while still “protecting confidential and personal information as required by law.” This ordinance promotes transparency and government accountability but also minimizes the risk of releasing protected data.  

“The City pulled these datasets down during the last administration due to legitimate, and now-proven, security concerns. Today, we’re safely reposting the data, and we’re incredibly excited to have introduced new legislation that will prioritize transparency AND protect privacy.” said CAO Odie Donald II. 

City Council will consider ORD. 2026-081 at their May 20 meeting.