Richmond Mayor Avula "Not in Possession" of Secret Separation Agreements

On the issue of transparency, Mayor Avula seems to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor.

A few weeks ago, Samuel Parker reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the Avula Administration is keeping secret 32 Richmond public employee separation agreements from the Stoney Administration, agreements totaling over $950,000.

From Parker’s article:

Under former Mayor Levar Stoney, the city issued 32 severance packages to departing employees between 2017 and 2024, collectively worth nearly $1 million.

But in response to a public records request, officials said they would not disclose documents related to those severance agreements, citing an exemption to Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act intended to protect “personnel information.”

Under Virginia’s FOIA, information on the use of public funds is generally considered to be public information. In August, for example, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published a database of city employee salaries after submitting records requests for the municipal payroll.

Despite Parker’s inability to get these records through FOIA requests, he seemed to get a commitment from Richmond Mayor Danny Avula at a press conference to “get [Parker] that info.”

With Parker’s tweet in mind, on January 30, 2025, I sent a FOIA request to Mayor Avula, stating in part:

In accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§2.2 -3700 et seq.), I am requesting from Mayor Danny Avula the 32 employee separation agreements the City has been keeping secret so far.

According to Samuel Parker's reporting in today's Richmond-Times Dispatch, Mayor Avula told the press he would "get you that info," specifically the severance agreements in question. As a citizen, I would like that same courtesy as required under VAFOIA.

See: https://richmond.com/news/local/government-politics/severance-package-agreement-city-employees-avula-foia-request-records/article_bf535882-de83-11ef-ac06-ef6246e57bab.html

If you have any questions or require additional information in order to process my request, please do not hesitate to contact me in writing.

That same day, I received a compliant response from Legislative Manager Cordell R. Hayes, Jr. that gave me hope that Mayor Avula wouldn’t take a posture of secrecy like his predecessor.

I asked for a cost estimate, and I waited.

Va. Code § 2.2-3704(B) requires the Mayor’s office to respond to my FOIA request in one of five prescribed ways within five working days of receiving it.

That didn’t happen.

So on the sixth working day, February 7, I emailed Hayes and stated: “I regret to inform you that you are now in violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Please produce records responsive to my request immediately.”

Later that evening, I received a response from Hayes which read, in part:

Thank you for following up, and apologies for the delay, as the City has been processing and coordinating an unusually high volume of FOIA requests.

In response to your request, “I am requesting from Mayor Danny Avula the 32 employee separation agreements the City has been keeping secret so far,” the Office of the Mayor is not in possession of any responsive records.

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to contact the City Attorney’s Office at john.dickinson2@rva.gov.

Two days ago, Graham Moomaw at the Richmonder reported that the Avula Administration is also hiding the separation agreement for former Department of Public Utilities director April Bingham. Moomaw wrote:

Richmond officials say former Department of Public Utilities director April Bingham isn't receiving severance pay after she stepped down from the job in the aftermath of last month’s water plant failure, but the city is refusing to release a document that might contain details on any severance arrangements that were considered.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Richmonder seeking copies of “any agreements in which the city committed to pay severance to former DPU director April Bingham related to her resignation,” city officials said they had one document matching that description.

That response indicated a severance deal was put on paper at some point, but a city spokesperson later said Bingham isn't receiving severance. The spokesperson would not comment further and would not explain the differing responses.

The city said it would not provide the underlying document The Richmonder requested that could shed light on Bingham's departure. To shield its release, officials invoked a transparency exemption that protects “contracts settling public employee employment disputes.”

I will contact the City Attorney’s office as the Mayor’s team suggested. But so far, based on Parker’s reporting, Moomaw’s reporting, and now my own personal experience, it seems like the new mayor is as allergic to transparency as the old.