Richmond Finance Director holds meeting, says staff is 'not hitting the mark'

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond's Finance Director expressed disappointment to her employees over the state of the organization, in audio secretly recorded during a staff meeting and given to CBS 6.

As CBS 6 has previously reported, the department has been criticized by residents and business owners over the past year for issues with the meals tax collection and inaccurate billing.

"I’m going to tell you quite honestly, we’re not hitting the mark. We’re not," Finance Director Sheila White told her employees, according to the recording. “It’s disappointing to see how we deliver service to citizens. It's disappointing to hear the feedback on how that service was delivered and how they've been dealing with the same issue year after year after year.”

Richmond City spokesperson Margaret Ekam confirmed that a meeting was held last Tuesday "after certain employees were terminated."

"Director Sheila White told the Finance team on Tuesday, our number one priority is to serve the public and we are missing the mark," Ekam said in a statement.

The union representing finance employees said at least five workers were fired last Tuesday.

Three of them spoke out to CBS 6, calling their terminations unfair and without an explanation.

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“Why they let me go yesterday? I have no idea. They wouldn’t give me any reason," Janice Bishop said.

Bishop, Deshawnda Johnson, and Jasmine Osborne worked in the business unit, processing taxes and applications.

They had only been hired a couple of months prior, but their termination letters stated the city could fire them without cause since it happened during the probationary period.

“We did not get any written notices, any warnings, nothing prior to," Bishop said.

The employees claimed the Finance Department was dysfunctional before they arrived and relied on antiquated systems.

“Just to see the amount of paperwork that was just there and there was no rhyme or reason to it, and you were just given a bin of paper. And they were like alright, 'get this processed,'" Osborne said.

“Do you feel like they set you up with the proper training and processes?” reporter Tyler Layne asked.

“Absolutely not," they said. "We didn’t have training.”

Ekam disputed that claim, saying, "All employees are provided training applicable to their positions."

During White's staff meeting, she did not mention any specific workers, but she said she has to make "hard decisions" such as "reorganizing a department" and "setting in place [standard operating procedures] and processes."

“And I'm going to hold everyone around me accountable for doing their piece, and sometimes that means this is not the right job for you," White said.

She added her team is working to ensure they have the right people, processes, and systems in place.

"So we're working on all three of those at the same time because for so long, it has been neglected in the City of Richmond," White said.

While again not mentioning any specific employees, White told staff that checks were recently discovered on employees' desks during a search.

“I can't tell you how disappointing it is to say, 'Hey guys, you can't have any checks on your desk. That's an internal control. It puts you at risk. It puts the city at risk. You can't do that.' And to then go through, do a desk audit, and find checks on people's desks as if I said nothing," White said.

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Ekam did not answer CBS 6's questions about those checks and why the situation was problematic.

Bishop, Johnson, and Osborne said they were not found with any checks on their desks but were aware of other employees who were found with checks on their desks.

They said no discussion about checks was brought up when they were terminated.

Ultimately, White reminded her staff to focus on the mission to "serve the citizens."

"They have a high expectation of us. That's why they're killing us in the press, and frankly, we've earned it," White said.

In the audio recording, White was also heard saying that members of the management team were threatened last Tuesday. She said she reported those threats to Richmond Police, and an investigation would occur.

CBS 6 checked with Richmond Police, and a spokesperson said the department did not have any reports on file from White that day. He said there were no reports of incidents at City Hall for the month.

Ekam did not respond to CBS 6's request for clarification regarding the threats and how they were reported.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

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