‘Turning vision into action’: Avula rolls out new strategic plan for Richmond

Speaking to a crowd on City Hall’s observation deck, Mayor Danny Avula said he’s learned that just setting priorities for public organizations “isn’t enough.”

“Because real progress happens when we’re clear about what we’re trying to achieve and how we’ll know if we’re getting there,” Avula said.

In his 10th month in office, the mayor unveiled a new strategic plan for Richmond Wednesday that he said reflects everything he heard from residents during his winning campaign last year, and the “story of a city working together to build a stronger and more inclusive future.”

“I’m really excited to share the work of the last few months that our team has been doing,” Avula said. “It’s been hard, focused work of turning vision into action.”

The 25-page strategy document — officially dubbed the Mayoral Action Plan, or MAP — lays out a wide variety of goals and metrics the Avula administration intends to focus on. 

There was a celebratory vibe as the plan was unveiled on the top floor of City Hall, where employees were treated to Nightingale ice cream sandwiches, Keya’s Snacks chips and poetry readings from Richmond’s poet laureate.

The initial plan is still somewhat aspirational and a work in progress, but it’s expected to lead to more specific action plans for city departments. A public-facing dashboard allowing residents to track the city’s performance is also expected to go online in early 2026.

“We’re committed to making sure residents are engaged in that,” said Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II. “Because without residents, none of us would be here.”

To improve City Hall operations, the administration plans to track metrics such as employee vacancies, contract compliance, higher user satisfaction with RVA311 service requests and decreasing the average times for resolving tax disputes and issuing licenses or permits.

For affordable housing, the city hopes to boost the number of new housing units built, decrease the number of residents experiencing homelessness or spending more than 30% of their income on housing and increase access to services meant to help people facing eviction.

Some metrics are more straightforward. The city hopes to see decreases in murders, shootings and traffic-related deaths in order to get a sense of how officials are doing on public safety.

The plan also lays out a series of goals for Richmond Public Schools, such as higher graduation rates and better performance on standardized tests, as well as aspirations for economic development and job creation in the city.

In a category called “Thriving and Inclusive Communities,” the plan outlines goals for supporting immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, supporting abortion access and tackling “racial inequities in health, wealth and well-being.”

The plan does not yet include specific data on how Richmond is doing now on all the identified metrics, nor does it include specific and measurable goals of how much improvement the Avula administration believes it can make on each metric.

Avula advisor Thad Williamson called the new plan a “practical bridge” between what people want and how the new team at City Hall is “going to get it done.”

“I’m just going to make a crazy assertion,” Williamson said. “What we’re doing right now, this is the way government is supposed to work.”

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org