Richmond parks officials outline bond plan and new food-and-beverage tax as budget shortfall looms

Richmond Parks and Recreation Board members on March 12 heard administration plans to use new food-and-beverage tax revenues and a bond-anticipation note to address deferred maintenance and capital projects while facing a notable revenue shortfall from 2025.

The park superintendent told the board the food-and-beverage tax “did pass. It was implemented March 1,” and that restaurants and prepared-food providers are collecting the tax. She said the Department of Revenue should distribute the first receipts in May, which the department could appropriate in the budget process or use as a bond-repayment source. The superintendent asked board members to attend the city council public hearing on the related ordinance, scheduled for the coming Monday at 7 p.m.

On financing, the superintendent said the department’s accountants prepared an amortization schedule for a bond-anticipation note and that the proposed structure shows roughly 192% debt coverage under current assumptions. “I did prepare that exhibit here that you’re seeing for the bond anticipation note,” she said, offering the spreadsheet for board review.

Staff presented the department’s 2025 results that frame the financing need. A finance staff member reported that 2025 budgeted revenue was $4,586,263.66 and actual revenue was $3,123,365.92 — about 68.10% of the estimate — and that expenditures ran at about 93.49% of budget. The shortfall is driven primarily by property-tax revenue shortfalls relative to earlier estimates, the staff member said.

Those figures inform near-term planning: administration has requested the parks department reduce its budget by $350,000–$500,000 by 2027. Staff also noted a hiring freeze that has left maintenance short two positions and warned the board may need to limit some rental discounts and consider new fundraising or grant strategies.

Board members pressed for involvement in major decisions. One member said the board should be engaged as projects move forward; staff responded the municipal budget window runs April 1–June 15 and that the department will provide monthly updates and meet with board members between sessions as needed.

What’s next: the city council public hearing on the bond ordinance occurs the coming Monday at 7 p.m.; staff will circulate the bond-amortization exhibit and report back to the board monthly or on demand.