On Friday, Richmond Mayor Dany Avula announced a few stopgap measures to keep City Hall running until he can hire a permanent chief administrative officer after interim CAO Sabrina Joy-Hogg announced she will leave that role on June 6.

Avula named Sharon Ebert, the city’s current deputy CAO for planning and economic development, as acting CAO. But he said he intends to announce his CAO hire on June 6, the same day Joy-Hogg’s tenure ends.

“Richmond, get excited! I cannot wait for you to meet your new CAO! You’re going to love them, and we’re going to do great things together,” Avula said in Friday’s news release. “I promised to conduct a national search for a top-talent CAO, I’ve kept that promise, and I know this one is a home run.”

Joy-Hogg has been doing dual duty, serving as both interim CAO and doing her old job as deputy CAO for finance and administration.

A start date for the new CAO has not yet been announced.

To bring in extra help on the finance front, Avula is turning to one of Richmond’s neighbors.

Brandon Hinton, Henrico County’s deputy county manager for administration, will serve as Richmond’s acting DCAO for finance and administration starting this week. The city described Hinton as being “on loan” from Henrico, saying he will return to his county job later this summer.

Avula characterized the city’s need to borrow a Henrico official as a sign of regional cooperation and partnership with Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

“When I reached out to the county manager to see if he’d be open to loaning us Brandon for a couple of months, he had absolutely zero hesitation,” Avula said. His willingness to lend a hand and Brandon’s willingness to serve his neighbors in Richmond are a great example of what we can accomplish when we work together.”

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org