Today, the City of Richmond released responsive records under the Freedom of Information Act related to the recently proposed solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).  

My administration continues to support the goal of increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing long-term energy costs and saving taxpayer dollars, and advancing our commitment to a more sustainable and resilient built environment.  

In the course of working towards that goal, some of our internal processes and systems, like those related to outside employment disclosures and addressing personnel matters, did not work the way I expect them to.  

While the records released today point us towards the improvements we must—and have already started to—make, they do require additional context on two specific matters:  

1. The employee submitted the Outside Employment Form as part of the onboarding process. That form was sent to the employee’s personnel file as part of the standard onboarding process. It was not reviewed or signed by a supervisor or other administrator. Without the required review and signature, the City does not consider it an active Outside Employment Form. 
    
2. Among the records is a document "Confidential: City of Richmond Office of Sustainability ” (DO_June2026-Redacted.pdf). The accuracy of the document is under review. Additionally, neither Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Ebert nor Human Resources Director Martin were aware of the document until October 2026.  

I’ve been clear that my approach is to look for problems, find them, and fix them. Whether we uncover problems ourselves or they’re brought to our attention by others, we will not shy away from addressing them.  

That work is already underway. 

Effective November 1, the Outside Employment Form will be fully removed from the automated onboarding workflow. Those disclosures will be handled through a separate review process. 

I’m thankful for our team, who has continued to address gaps and improve processes to support our more than 4,000 City employees.