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To amend Ord. No. 2026-063, adopted May 11, 2026, which adopted the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 General Fund Budget and made appropriations thereto, by (i) transferring funds in the amount of $844,143.00 from the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, (ii) creating new line items in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency entitled “CARITAS (Surge Shelter)” and “CARITAS (Warming Center),” (iii) appropriating $726,143.00 of such transferred funds to the new line item in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency “CARITAS (Surge Shelter),” and (iv) appropriating $118,000.00 of such transferred funds to the new line item in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency “CARITAS (Warming Center),” all for the purpose of providing funding for surge overflow shelter and warming center operations during the inclement winter weather season.
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THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. That Article I, Section 1 of Ordinance No. 2026-063, adopted May 11, 2026, which adopted a General Fund Budget for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, and made appropriations pursuant thereto, is hereby amended by:
(a) Transferring funds in the amount of $844,143.00 from the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services;
(b) Creating new line items in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency entitled:
(1) “CARITAS (Surge Shelter),” and
(2) “CARITAS (Warming Center),”
(c) Appropriating funds in the amount of $844,143.00 transferred by subsection (a) of this section to the new line items in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency created by subsection (b) of this section in the following amounts:
(1) “CARITAS (Surge Shelter)”……………………………………$726,143.00; and
(2) “CARITAS (Warming Center)”………………………………….$118,000.00,
all for the purpose of providing funding for surge overflow shelter and warming center operations during the inclement winter weather season.
§ 2. This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon adoption.
City of Richmond
Intracity Correspondence
O&R Transmittal
DATE: Friday, July 31, 2026
TO: The Honorable Members of City Council
THROUGH: The Honorable Dr. Danny Avula, Mayor
THROUGH: Odie Donald II, Chief Administrative Officer
THROUGH: Tanikia Jackson, DCAO for Finance and Administration
THROUGH: Letitia Shelton, Director of Finance
THROUGH: Meghan Brown, Director of Budget and Strategic Planning
THROUGH: Amy Popovich, DCAO for Human Services
THROUGH: Tiffany Ford, Department of Neighborhood and Community Services
FROM: Dominic Barrett, Senior Policy Advisor
RE: To amend the FY27 budget to reappropriate $844,143.00 into two new CARITAS lines for the purpose of funding surge overflow shelter and warming center operations during the inclement winter weather season.
ORD. OR RES. No.
PURPOSE: To amend the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 General Fund Budget a by (i) transferring funds in the amount of $844,143.00 from the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, (ii) creating new line items in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency entitled “CARITAS (Surge Shelter)” and “CARITAS (Warming Center),” (iii) appropriating $726,143.00 of such transferred funds to the new line item in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency “CARITAS (Surge Shelter),” and (iv) appropriating $118,000.00 of such transferred funds to the new line item in the Outside Agencies and Central Appropriations agency “CARITAS (Warming Center),” all for the purpose of providing funding for surge overflow shelter and warming center operations during the inclement winter weather season.
BACKGROUND: During extreme cold snaps and heavy snowfall in January and February 2025, the 106-bed inclement weather shelter (IWS) operated by the Salvation Army at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. was insufficient to meet demand for homeless persons seeking shelter, so the City stood up a temporary overflow IWS on the first floor of the Department of Social Services building at 900 E. Marshall St. to protect persons living outdoors from dangerous weather conditions. The overflow shelter was activated four times over 28 nights, serving an average of 72 persons each night - with some nights exceeding 90 - and was staffed primarily by City employees working their usual jobs during the day, with occasional help from neighboring localities and the non-profit Daily Planet. That source of staffing and space could not be sustained for future winters, so City Administration met with senior leaders from Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover to identify a more suitable, professionally staffed alternative.
Homeward, which supports the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, connected the localities with CARITAS, which submitted an unsolicited proposal to Henrico County for sharing among the other localities. CARITAS has coordinated and staffed shelters for the homeless for more than 40 years and currently operates two year-round emergency shelters (36 beds for men and 28 for women); drawing on that experience, CARITAS partnered with the City during the winter of 2025-2026 to stand up additional overflow bed space on short notice whenever the Salvation Army's shelter reached capacity, giving the City and its regional partners a more sustainable, professionally staffed alternative to relying on City buildings and City employees. The partnership proved successful, expanding the region's capacity to protect homeless residents during dangerous winter weather.
Based on that success, the City intends to renew its agreement with CARITAS for the 2026-2027 winter season and expand the scope of services. In addition to continuing to provide surge overflow shelter, CARITAS will manage one City-designated warming center pilot program for up to 20 City-authorized activation days. This expanded partnership is intended to provide more consistent, better-coordinated protection for vulnerable residents throughout the inclement weather season.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: The attached ordinances are heavily informed by multiple years of community engagement, particularly through the Education and Human Services Standing Committee, including that Committee’s special meeting on homelessness in March of 2025. The ordinance is also informed by the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2030 which was released in May of 2020 and involved extensive community engagement including Advisory Board leadership, public surveys, and public meetings.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL: RES. 2020-R031 expressing support for the Strategic Plan to End Homelessness 2020-2030 and RES. 2020-R037 requesting the CAO to develop a housing policy plan to address homelessness and affordable housing in the City of Richmond.
FISCAL IMPACT: This will reduce the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services budget by $844,143.00
DESIRED EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon adoption
REQUESTED INTRODUCTION DATE: September 14, 2026
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING DATE: September 28, 2026
REQUESTED AGENDA: Consent agenda
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL COMMITTEE: Finance and Economic Development
AFFECTED AGENCIES: Budget and Strategic Planning, Neighborhood and Community Services, Office of the DCAO for Human Services, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING ORD. OR RES.: Res. No. 2020-R031; Res. No. 2020-R037; Ord. No. 2024-099; Ord. No. 2026-063
ATTACHMENTS:
STAFF: Tiffany Ford, Director, Department of Neighborhood and Community Services; (804) 646-3626, tiffany.ford@rva.gov <mailto:tiffany.ford@rva.gov>