RICHMOND, Va. — The City of Richmond spent almost half a million dollars on a consultant whose job was to advise the Finance Director on improving processes for tax revenue billing, collection, and the overall taxpayer experience.
According to invoices obtained through a public records request and first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, consultant Anne Seward, a subcontractor with Davenport Public Finance, began communicating with the city in January 2024.
That’s when the Finance Department was facing a big controversy: the meals tax fiasco. Dozens of restaurant owners complained they were getting hit with inaccurate and unfair late fees due to what they called poor communication and collection practices on the city’s part.
Seward’s work picked up in March 2024 and continued through at least May 2025.
She charged $200 per hour, and in a timeframe of just over a year, she billed the city $492,000.
For comparison, Finance Director Sheila White’s salary in 2024 was $256,000, according to a Richmond-Times Dispatch database.
“My gut reaction is just one of anger,” said Councilmember Stephanie Lynch in response to the invoices.
Lynch and Councilmember Reva Trammell said they were surprised by the final price tag. They said the spending decision was the administration’s and did not require the council’s approval.
“$500,000 of taxpayer’s money? That is unheard of. That is unreal, and especially for us still not to have things cleared up or going in the right direction, because it looks like we’re going backwards,” Trammell said.
Previous Mayor Levar Stoney told CBS 6 that bringing Seward on was an effort to fix a “problematic department.”
“If a director needs more help, more high-level help from a subject matter expert like Ms. Seward, then I want to give them that help,” Stoney said during an August 2024 press conference.
While Seward’s contract was initially set to end in December 2024, city spokesperson Tamara Jenkins said her “scope and work evolved over time to add support due to vacancy and turnover.”
During her time, Seward identified a slew of customer service and staff deficiencies and outlined corrections with implementation goals.
According to invoices, her work included revenue administration stop gap support, workplan and metrics development, leadership support, RVA portal software development, and data analysis.
But significant Finance Department problems have continued to impact taxpayers recently, including the issuing of thousands of incorrect rebate checks, a process for which the department failed to develop standard operating procedures, and the double billing of real estate tax bills due to a system error.
Lynch said she wasn’t convinced the money spent was worth it.
“City expenditures like this one where we have not yielded necessarily the results and seen the fruits of that expenditure is maddening. I mean folks are grappling with over overcharged bills and inaccurate billing from the city,” Lynch said. “For several years, we poured a lot of resources, not just into this one individual’s contract, but a number of resources into that department, and folks haven’t seen the results.”
Based off her memory, she said the consulting arrangement and closeness to the director’s duties were unusual.
“I cannot think of a time where a consultant has stayed on for that long in that prominent of a role,” Lynch said.
Seward’s contract has since ended, according to a city spokesperson. White’s last day with the city will be July 25.
In response to CBS 6’s questions about the consulting services and the terms surrounding White’s resignation, Jenkins said she would have more information to share on Monday. We also reached out to council leadership, President Cynthia Newbille and Vice President Katherine Jordan, regarding the contracted services and associated costs and did not hear back.
In a letter to city officials announcing White’s resignation, the procurement director praised her for helping “shape the financial stability of the city,” adding she was instrumental in achieving Richmond’s AAA bond rating from Fitch, revised tax relief programs for older adults, and streamlined payment processes.
“She did a good job,” Trammell said of White’s performance. “It’s not all her fault. She’s over top of everybody, and if they don’t do their job, or if they leave or they go to another department, this doesn’t get done, that doesn’t get done, or there’s things that got out of hand, that wasn’t under her control. Don’t forget she has a boss too.”
While Trammell said the department’s challenges cannot be pinned on one person, she acknowledged there’s still a lot of work left to be done.
Speaking about the resignation in a constituent newsletter, Councilmember Sarah Abubaker said, “While I don’t think any one person is responsible for the myriad of issues that have been coming from the department, I do think it’s healthy to have new perspectives and leadership in a department that continues to struggle may be the beginning of necessary evolution.”
Moving forward, Lynch said she would like the department to focus on the basics including customer service.
“If we can’t get the simple things right, we can’t get the big things right. And I think that’s got to be front and center of the new director’s priority list,” Lynch said.
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