Richmond mayor pushes for casino in latest revenue proposal

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Richmond mayor Levar Stoney proposes that if voters pass a casino project, the revenue would go towards a new Childhood Care and Education Trust Fund.

He proposed this to the public Tuesday morning and presented it to the city council Tuesday afternoon.

“When we build cities for kids, everyone benefits, everyone succeeds. This is a way to not only build a community center but also expand the community center to add childcare spaces,” Mayor Stoney said.

Stoney said the trust fund would help with teacher and childcare employee pay and expand access to affordable childcare and educational programs for the fall of 2024.

“When we talk about affordable, I will say it shouldn’t cost as much as a mortgage to be able to access childcare,” said the manager for the Office of Children and Families, Eva Colen.

Mayor Stoney declared $19 million of the projected $30 million annual revenue to go towards projects associated with that trust fund.

$8 million will go into the Richmond City Parks and Recreation Department, $14 million will be used to rebuild T.B. Smith Community Center and Southside Community Center and $4.5 million will go directly into the Childcare and Education Trust Fund.

If approved, Mayor Stoney also pledged a one-time, upfront payment of $26.5 million towards rebuilding those community centers.

Meanwhile, not all voters are in favor of this casino project. They have already voted it down once.

“I just wanna know if there’s a dedication if we say no a second time that they won’t bring it back a third time,” said Allen Chipman, a voter against the casino project.

If voters turn down the project, Mayor Stoney told NBC12, there isn’t a plan B other than raising taxes.

“Outside of that, the alternative is us trying to find ways through raising taxes using the revenue that we currently have. We would obviously want to avoid that,” the mayor said.

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