How Richmond City Hall is planning for a new mayor and council

City administrators have two third-party reviews of department and city-wide operations in the works.

Why it matters: The city is trying to get its house in order as officials prepare to transition to a new mayor and at least two (but up to seven) new City Council members come Jan. 1.

The big picture: The reviews are part of the city's multiple-step plan to prepare for a new administration, the city's Chief Administration Officer Lincoln Saunders tells Axios.

• They build on the "not sexy" backbone issues the city's top administrator has been focused on since he was appointed to the role in 2021.

Zoom in: First up, the city hired Richmond-based accounting firm Brown Edwards review its Procurement Services department , which oversees the city's vendors, contracts and spending, including employees' purchasing cards.

• Those purchasing cards have come under fire in recent weeks amid reports that two city employees had their P-cards suspended due to questionable purchases and exceeding monthly spending limits.
• One employee, the city's former spokesperson Petula Burks, resigned abruptly amid questions about her card use before it was suspended, including racking up nearly $100,000 in charges to firms operated by her former business partner.
• A review of the card program will be part of the third-party assessment, but Saunders notes that of over 300 purchasing cards used by city employees, only five have needed to be suspended, and three of those were in the registrar's office , which City Hall doesn't oversee.

Worth noting: The use of purchasing cards as opposed to employee reimbursement was a recommendation of the 2017 comprehensive city government review that Mayor Stoney commissioned as part of his first 100 days in office.

• That 2017 top-to-bottom review found that City Hall was plagued by "excessive bureaucracy, low morale and micromanagement," the Times-Dispatch reported .
• City workers said the building was dirty, departments were understaffed, and their own internal HR department was "ineffective and unresponsive" to staff needs while also being slow and "problematic" in hiring.

And Saunders wants to see what these reviewers find now. The city is in the process of re-engaging the same team from the VCU Wilder Center they worked with in 2017 to re-review how the city is ahead of the next administration.

• He's hoping at least on the HR front the city is better positioned.
• The entire department was revamped as of last year and is now fully staffed with credentials professionals
• That's one of the "not sexy," boring tasks of government Saunders is proud of and hopes will help City Hall recruit stronger job candidates for the future.

What's next: Both reviews should be completed in the coming months.