Fired Richmond finance workers say residents shouldn't feel confident in their tax bills

Recently fired Richmond employees who worked for the city's finance department told WTVR's Tyler Layne they weren't trained to do their jobs, which included processing personal property and meals tax payments.

Why it matters: When Layne asked if residents should feel confident that their taxes are correct, they said, "Absolutely not."

Catch up quick: Richmond's finance department has been under scrutiny for months after some restaurants faced tens of thousands of dollars in incorrectly calculated meals tax fees.

• In June, VPM reported that multiple finance department employees were fired after an outside consultant — paid $200 per hour — was brought on to review the department's meals tax policy.
• Then in August, officials searched the desks of finance department workers for undisclosed reasons.

The latest: There were more firings at the finance department this week.

• Among them were the workers Layne spoke to — Janice Bishop, Deshawnda Johnson and Jasmine Osborne — who started this year and described the workplace as disorganized, hostile and chaotic.
• They said they weren't given a reason for their firings, weren't allowed union representation and criticized the department's leadership.

The other side: In a Wednesday press briefing , Mayor Stoney defended Sheila White, the city's finance director, calling her someone who is "willing to run into the fire for the fix."

• And city spokesperson Margaret Ekam told Axios on Thursday that "all employees are provided training applicable to their positions" and "the overwhelming majority of finance employees are committed to raising the bar."

Flashback: Last year, thousands of Richmonders saw higher car tax bills because the finance department incorrectly assessed their vehicles.

• A December 2023 audit found that the department also mistakenly tacked on penalties to over 66,000 personal property tax bills.
• Another audit last year showed the department had failed to send meals tax bills out to hundreds of businesses, leaving millions in potential revenue on the table.
• This was in part due to them using a software program so outdated that staff sometimes have to manually calculate the bills.

What they're saying: "There's something not right going on in the City of Richmond," Osborne told WTVR.

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