City Manager’s Report December 2022 1 UPDATES FROM CITY MANAGER MICHAEL ROGERS • Gas Utility Comments This is to provide information related to comments to council November 21, 2022. Currently, the city offers natural gas service to residential and commercial customers based on the proposed connected loads of their gas appliances. City staff look at the prospective revenues to ensure the installation, operation and ongoing maintenance of the natural gas service lines makes sense financially for the gas utility. If a residential development does not plan on installing qualifying appliances within the development, for example, domestic hot water heaters or furnaces, then the customer or developer will be billed for the cost of the labor and materials associated with the installation of the natural gas line. City code states “the gas division may install new service connections up to one hundred fifty (150) feet from the main at no cost to the customer for residential service, provided that the gas superintendent determines that the prospective revenue from such installation will justify the city's investment therein”. The key to this section of city code is the word may and city staff make that decision based on the revenue that will be generated. The payback time period for the revenue generated is approximately 4 ½ years. It was stated that prior to 1979 that if gas was installed customers paid for it and in 1979 that section of code was deleted and language was added to subsidize gas lines for customers. The code referenced in 1979 is associated with ornamental gas lights and not gas lines. In 1979, language was added for the cost of new service connections that is similar to today’s code where “…new service connections up to one hundred-fifty feet from the main at no cost to the customer. The additional cost to the city in extending any such service connection beyond one hundred-fifty feet from the main shall be charged to the customer.” In 1979, almost 100% of city homes utilized natural. A review of city code prior to 1979 shows no evidence that customers were charged for gas line installations. Retired employees have also indicated they could not recall customers being charged for gas line installations. Existing policies regarding fees of other natural gas providers in Virginia are in line or less stringent than Charlottesville’s natural gas policies. In addition, the city is finalizing the contract to conduct a study regarding the decarbonization of the natural gas utility and how the city of Charlottesville natural gas distribution system can play a role in the city achieving their overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Another key component of the study is evaluating the legality of discontinuing natural gas operations or new connections by looking at state and local laws. City staff is also interested in the consultant evaluating cost and resiliency implications to existing and new customers. This will include reviewing city code and making recommendations associated with the natural gas utility fee structure. • Chief of Police Search The City Manager and newly designated Police Chief, Michael Kochis held a virtual Press conference following his appointment on December 5th. • Internal Organizational Work The City Manager and Human Resource Director held a Town Hall Meeting with City employees to discuss the new Personnel Rules issued on October 17. There was robust dialogue and several clarifications. The City Manager had a discussion with lead team members rolling out the results of the employee survey 2 and identifying the work that needs to be done to address many of the findings of the survey. Much more follow-up will be required. The compensation and classification study continues to progress, and we are on track to have some preliminary information in January. The process will not stop at classification but will also require the creation and approval of a compensation policy as part of this process. There will be some positions that are at the market average, some above, and some below. To level set expectations, not every employee will necessarily be eligible for an upward adjustment in pay, it all depends on where the position is on the market scale. UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER ASHLEY MARSHALL • Departmental Awards The Office of the City Manager would like to congratulate the Office of Budget and Management for receiving the Government Finance Officer Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2022 Budget. This represents the 18th consecutive year that the office has received the award. The Office of the City Manager would also like to celebrate the Department of Social Services’ recent honor as the Champions Employer of the Year by the Charlottesville Regional Office of the Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services. • 2022 National Community Survey The City of Charlottesville is excited to announce the launch of The National Community Survey, also called The NCS. Specifically, the City wants to know what they can do to work towards a better, safer community. To get involved, local participants should go to https://polco.us/charlottesville22op . Once they have answered the survey questions, residents provide their email addresses and ZIP code. This ensures that the city only hears from each person once. It also collects information on the general area where respondents live. Residents who provide this information will also be able to receive notifications of any future survey or polling efforts Charlottesville decides to conduct. Responses are anonymous, and personal information is securely stored on Polco. If you received a survey from participating, please use the link that you were provided in the mail or complete the paper copy that was provided for you. Polco is committed to a strict privacy policy—they only share anonymous, combined results. Participants’ individual data and votes are never shared. UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER SAMUEL SANDERS • Staffing Update We welcome Anthony Warn who joined the city to serve as the Grants Analyst, with the responsibility for managing the entitlement funds received annually from HUD. Anthony is a new member of the Office of Community Solutions team. • Winter Weather Preparation The internal city team held its annual Winter Coordination Meeting at the end of November to fully review the plan for snow operations. The team is ready to execute the plan during any upcoming weather 3 event with a reminder to the public that we are ready to respond to any weather event. • Senior Transportation Initiatives Midway Manor Bus Stop Project continues as an active project. We have expanded the scope of the project to a more appropriate full scale bus shelter. The next step is to secure an easement from the property owner to permit the construction of the shelter. CAT has completed planning work to make it possible for an extension of Route 11 to begin serving The Center at Belvedere. This project will be submitted to the FTA for review and we are anticipating the route change to go live by May 2023. CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE UPDATES • Office of the City Manager – Executive Assistant Terry Bentley (she/her) The City Manager’s Office would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Please be careful as you travel and enjoy the time with friends and family. And do find an opportunity to reach out to someone less fortunate and be the blessing they need during this holiday season. We look forward to a Happy New Year as we continue to provide consistency, clarity, and commitment for meeting the needs of the citizens of Charlottesville. • Office of Budget and Management – Director Krisy Hammill (she/her) The Office of Budget and Management has processed departmental requests for CIP and Operational budgets. This month and next, departments will meet with the City Manager and the budget review team to discuss their requests. The Office will hold two (2) public meetings with the Planning Commission. The first meeting was held on November 22, 2022 and the second was held on December 13, 2022. In addition, the Budget Office has also been notified that they – once again – have received GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2022 Budget. This represents the 18th consecutive year that the office has received the award. • Office of Communications & Public Engagement – Deputy Director David Dillehunt (he/him) The Office of Communications & Public Engagement oversaw a very successful 25th Annual Grand Illumination event on December 2, 2022. Job well done to staff member Caroline Rice and David Dillehunt for ensuring the night was beautiful! Public Safety Information Officer Kyle Ervin continues to support CFD and CPD with timely news releases and announcements. Communications Specialist Remy Trail continues to assist City boards and commissions with Zoom meeting setup and scheduling and coordinates the Sunday programming for CPA-TV. Further, Deputy Director David Dillehunt continues to provide management support the full team while leading the execution of the City's PEG-TV (public access television) operation. • Office of Community Solutions –Director Alex Ikefuna (he/him) OCS is continuing its effort to fill staff vacancies. The Grant Analyst has been hired. The Housing Program Manager interview is completed, and offer being made. The Grants Manager position application process is closed, and candidate submissions are under screening. The Housing Operations and Program Support (HOPS) grant application for funding is open and will close on Wednesday, December 30, 2022. A total of 4 $575,000 will be available for funding. Procurement of reusable, recycled grocery bag has been finalized. Delivery is expected on December 28. This is in readiness for the Plastic Tax Ordinance enacted by the City Council which will take effect on January 1, 2023. • Office of Economic Development – Director Chris Engel (he/him) The Office of Economic Development’s (OED) Minority Business Program recently completed another GO Start-Up program. GO Start-Up is designed to provide introductory-level business concepts and help entrepreneurs process potential start-up feasibility. A total of nine participants successfully completed the entrepreneurship workshop. We wish Wilma Dove, Robert Johnson, Jonathan Vowles, Samuel Bush- Wright, Hyeyon Moon, Signay Shelton, Jahmila Riley, Amber Smith, and Brandon Lee success in their future entrepreneurial endeavors. The Office is also pleased to announce that Resonance has been selected as the consultant to develop a comprehensive economic development strategic plan to help guide the City’s development activities for the next five years. The Resonance team has advised organizations worldwide and has deep experience with university communities, including several in Virginia. The plan is expected to leverage existing assets and envision a future that builds a more inclusive, resilient business and entrepreneurial community. The project is expected to commence this winter and conclude in mid-2023. • Office of Human Rights – Director Todd Niemeier (he/him) The Office of Human Rights continues to receive a high volume of requests for individual support. We are still entering service data for November 2022, but the current total of incoming contacts for 2022 is 2,775. The total number of incoming contacts for 2021 was 1,962, the highest of any year since the office’s opening in 2014. The office has finalized a position description and interview questions for hiring a Human Rights Intake Counselor and intends to begin the hiring process within the next month. Victoria McCullough, Community Outreach and Administrative Specialist for the Office of Human Rights, has been working this month to continue to connect with and develop relationships with community partners, including participating with The Haven through their weekly Coordinated Entry system calls and working with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank through their quarterly Hunger Coalition calls. Ms. McCullough also presented at the Venable Neighborhood Association meeting and is working with an illustrator to create educational videos about Protected Actions under the Charlottesville Human Rights Ordinance. Currently, for 2022 the Office of Human Rights has attended a total of 6 service provision outreach events. Victoria also contributes significant time to assisting with incoming inquiries and individual service follow-up. Human Rights Interns Lily Gates and Ginny Helmandollar continue to hold the primary responsibility for individual service data entry and completion of minutes for publicly noticed meetings of the Commission. On November 13th, OHR staff went to the College of William and Mary to support Ginny’s hosting of the “Walk 10,000 Miles in My Shoes” refugee resettlement simulation. Ginny worked with classmates and a professor to recreate the simulation based on the OHR’s materials. • Office of Equity and Inclusion Home to Hope Program - Employment & Financial Opportunity Manager Roy Fitch Jr. (he/him) The Home to Hope Program is currently wrapping up its interview process for a new Home to Hope Peer Navigator. The program hopes to make an offer before the New Year. In addition, Navigator Stacey Washington shared an impact statement at the Charlottesville Fire Department’s Annual Ceremony held at CitySpace on Thursday, October 27th. The Peer Navigators also attended the November 2022 One-Stop 5 Shop at Carver Recreation to support community members reentering post-incarceration. Finally, the Home to Hope program is proud to announce a partnership with the University of Virginia School of Law to provide additional assistance to program participants. Enormous thank you to current Navigator Whitmore Merrick and past Navigator Shadee Gilliam (now with the Department of Human Services) for working to establish this partnership. Downtown Job Center – Employment & Financial Opportunity Manager Roy Fitch Jr. (he/him) The Downtown Job Center has had an additional increase in jobseekers during October and November 2022, thanks to our collaboration with Dawn Lawson at the City of Promise. Seven (7) parents and one (1) teen had appointments with the Center so far, and more appointments are scheduled for later dates. The program is also working internally with the Department of Human Resources to build additional support for community members seeking employment while bringing additional great candidates to the City as an organization. Americans with Disability Act (ADA)– ADA Coordinator Paul Rudacille (He/Him) During this fiscal year, the ADA Coordinator became an official part of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. The current priority work focuses on completing the procurement process for the ADA Transition Plan update and responding to any community concerns. You can find out more information about the ADA Coordinator on our website at: https://www.charlottesville.gov/274/Americans-with-Disabilities-Act- ADA-Coor CITY DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES • Charlottesville Area Transit – Director Garland Williams (he/him) Working on the conversion of our radio network in partnership with the region through the Emergency Communications Center. CAT will be upgrading its radios to join the upgraded 800mhz radio tower serving the region. We gain significant upgrade by completing this implementation as the final partner to do so. Microtransit with the County is another active project that has increased in activity. The consultant team visited the stakeholder group to begin planning details for this “Uber-like/Lyft-like” transit service. The pilot will bring additional service to the North 29 area and Pantops, two areas needing expanded service as growth continues. A $300,000 grant is supporting some of the effort along with the county. • Charlottesville Fire Department – Interim Chief Michael Thomas (he/him) Staff are reviewing the DRAFT Emergency Services Master Plan produced by consultant, Emergency Services Consulting International. Once our edits of the document have occurred, we anticipate a final version to be released in January. The CFD leadership team will begin prioritizing matters highlighted and recommended for best practice implementation. The priorities will be tiered as short-mid-long term so the additional capacity and budget planning can support any pursuit of changes. Chief Thomas has met repeatedly with Chief Eggleston (Albemarle County) to ensure collaboration remains in high order during the current leadership transition. Members of the city and county executive offices joined most recently to share expectations and ask operational questions all aimed at supporting the collegial relationship that supports our commitment to mutual aid. 6 • Charlottesville Police Department – Assistant Chief Major LaTroy Durrette (he/him) The Charlottesville Police Department is proud to announce the hire of five (5) new officers attending the academy in January 2023. The Department has also hired one (1) certified officer who started in December 2022. Current staffing numbers are 81 sworn officers and 29 civilians. Further, as of November, the department has responded to approx. 36,634 calls for service. The Department also is working to conduct a “State of the Department” audit for the new Chief of Police, requested by current Acting Chief Major LaTroy Durrette as he transitions from his Acting role. The audit’s goal is to provide stability within the organization ensuring an orderly and efficient transition of command. Some of the tasks that will be accomplished include conducting inventories of the property and evidence room; all firearms (including ammunition) and less-lethal weapons in our possession; the quartermaster’s space; our motorized and bicycle fleet; our communications and electronic systems, including all phones, radios, computers, and audio/video surveillance equipment; all badges and sworn credentials; and of all other fixed assets that are within the main facility and any of our offsite offices. Further work will be done to review financials, including all credit cards inventoried, the driver’s license status and criminal histories of all departmental employees, and to provide written confirmation reflecting that every departmental member has been in receipt of and has been instructed or otherwise trained concerning the policies and procedures of the department. Finally, audits on all open warrants and protective orders and an inspection of all personnel, training, and internal affairs files will be completed. • Emergency Management – Jeremy Evans (he/him) Currently editing the final draft of the Emergency Operations Plan. Estimated Completion date 12/22. Emergency Support Functions are being edited along with several support annexes. Editing the inclement weather SOP. Meeting with Mary Ann and Sam to finalize details EOC Team identified, with notifications and meetings to follow in early 2023. Critical Incident Management Team to resume meeting regularly to discuss critical incidents occurring in the city. Meetings will resume in early January 2023 or as needed before 1/2023. Temporary office moves to City Space completed. VDEM Director Talmadge is to visit Charlottesville and Albemarle County on December 15th to discuss hazards in our region. Flooding and other hazards identified in the 2023 Hazard Mitigation Plan and the Hazard Identification and Risk Analysis are to be discussed. Members of the City’s Flood Resiliency Taskforce will be in attendance. • Human Resources – Director Mary Ann Hardie (she/her) The Office of Human Rights continues to receive a high volume of requests for individual support. We are still entering service data for November 2022, but the current total of incoming contacts for 2022 is 2,775. The total number of incoming contacts for 2021 was 1,962, the highest of any year since the office’s opening in 2014. The office has finalized a position description and interview questions for hiring 7 a Human Rights Intake Counselor and intends to begin the hiring process within the next month. Victoria McCullough, Community Outreach and Administrative Specialist for the Office of Human Rights, has been working this month to continue to connect with and develop relationships with community partners, including participating with The Haven through their weekly Coordinated Entry system calls and working with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank through their quarterly Hunger Coalition calls. Ms. McCullough also presented at the Venable Neighborhood Association meeting and is working with an illustrator to create educational videos about Protected Actions under the Charlottesville Human Rights Ordinance. Currently, for 2022 the Office of Human Rights has attended a total of 6 service provision outreach events. Victoria also contributes significant time to assisting with incoming inquiries and individual service follow-up. Human Rights Interns Lily Gates and Ginny Helmandollar continue to hold the primary responsibility for individual service data entry and completion of minutes for publicly noticed meetings of the Commission. On November 13th, OHR staff went to the College of William and Mary to support Ginny’s hosting of the “Walk 10,000 Miles in My Shoes” refugee resettlement simulation. Ginny worked with classmates and a professor to recreate the simulation based on the OHR’s materials. Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Ordinance: Detailed data regarding ongoing complaints of discrimination and individual services provided by the office can be found in the agenda packets for regular meetings of the Human Rights Commission. At its last regular meeting on October 20th, The Human Rights Commission voted to adopt the proposed revisions to the Human Rights Ordinance (City Code Chapter 2, Article XV) for presentation to City Council on November 7th. City Council approved a slightly edited version of the ordinance at its November 21, 2022, meeting through a two-reading process. Additionally, on October 27th, the Commission submitted its recommendations to Council regarding the legislative agenda for 2023. • Department of Human Services – Director Misty Graves (she/her) The Department of Human Services is currently interviewing for the Hotline Coordinator position, which provides oversight and support to the Community Resource Line (Pathways) and the Homeless Information Line. For programs, the balance on the Pathways fund is currently $354,381.66 as of 12/7/2022. The average weekly disbursement over the last four weeks is $13,080.14. Additionally, the Department partnered with Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless (BRACH, formerly TJACH) to facilitate a follow-up to the Homelessness Summit held by the City last year. Held on December 1st at City Space and virtually, it was well attended, with 22 members in-person and approximately 10 online. This meeting worked to engage partners in the system of care to focus on three initiatives: Year-Round Emergency Shelter, Street Outreach, and Permanent Housing. The Department also continues to support the One-Stop Shop, which is held monthly at Carver Recreation Center. The One-Stop allows service partners to engage with residents; specifically, those formerly incarcerated. Internally, staff at DHS have been focusing on supporting staff well-being and safety. One of our staff will partner with a staff member of CDSS to provide a Stress First Aid overview at the January LEAD TEAM meeting. • Department of Information Technology – Director Steve Hawkes (he/him) Internally, the Department has nearly completed the organizational migration to Microsoft OneDrive. There is one remaining department in this transition. Migration from the J: Drive is scheduled to occur in late December/early January, and communication has been sent to all users requesting that they take time to review files they may have on that drive. For Cyber Security, the phishing email training campaign 8 ended in October, and we saw a 20% failure rate among staff. We sent out an email to all users discussing the training and provided tips to help them spot a phishing attempt in the future. Another phishing email training campaign is underway, and we hope to see improvement in a lower failure rate, and we plan on continuing the campaigns throughout the year. The Incident Response Plan (IRP) was finalized last month, and in January, we will put it to the test with a cybersecurity incident exercise. For Applications, the team recently opened the IT Department's Helpdesk system to the organization so users can submit tickets and check on the status of their tickets. The department is also working to help staff better use several tools that can help us work more effectively and collaboratively, such as Microsoft Teams. To that end, and in collaboration with the City's iTeam there will be upcoming WIIFM workshops (What's In It For Me) on Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive in January, February, March, and April. Meetings are also being held with Departments to learn more about their technology needs and to let them know about some IT initiatives that may be of interest. Staffing updates include Brady Winter being promoted to Systems Engineer, Tyler Ringling being promoted to Systems Administrator, and Ray Liu has been hired as Software Engineer. The Department also had its first departmental retreat in several years, where the team brainstormed core values for the department and anticipated follow-up sessions. • Neighborhood Development Services – Director James Freas (he/him) An update on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite was provided at the Dec 13 Planning Commission meeting, which included sharing the draft proposed zoning districts. The full description and rules for all zoning districts along with the use table and zoning map will be available at Jan/Feb timeframe. Two new building inspectors will start Jan 3 marking the first time in over two years that the building division has been fully staffed. Plan review timeframes continue to improve towards the goal of building permits being issued within two weeks of submission. • Parks & Recreation – Director Dana Kasler (he/him) Staff is coordinating lighting upgrade at Tonsler Park in coordination with Dominion’s Outdoor Lighting team to replace existing light with LEDs to improve lighting conditions with energy efficient technology. 2023 Winter/Spring Program registration opened on Monday, December 5 and went very well. We are offering a total of 154 classes and currently have 883 participants enrolled in those classes. Smith Aquatic & Fitness Center New Year’s promotions will begin January 2. Holiday Market is occurring every Saturday from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm downtown until December 17. • Police Civilian Oversight Board – Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall (she/her) The City Manager’s Office is working with PCOB Chair William Mendez to ensure that the good work of the community leaders who paved the way for the PCOB continues through this time of transition. The job posting for the open Executive Director position for the Police Civilian Oversight Board was recently closed. The Office of the City Manager and the PCOB are beginning the process of application review and interview scheduling. Community members who may have a complaint or commendation may file those at any time on the PCOB website: https://www.charlottesville.gov/1440/Police-Civilian-Oversight-Board • Public Works – Director Stacey Smalls (he/him) 9 Environmental Sustainability: Climate Action Plan (CAP): Since the presentation of the 2022 Climate Action Plan to City Council on October 3, additional public feedback was invited, drop-in meetings were held, and presentations and discussions were had with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Tree Commission, the Planning Commission, and several local climate advocacy groups. The CAP was recommended to move forward as a Comprehensive Plan amendment at the December 13 Planning Commission meeting. Environmental Sustainability: Energy and Water Management Program (EWMP) Report: The EWMP has published the Fiscal Year 2022 Performance Report which provides an update of the EWMP and related actions that contributed to improving energy and water performance of municipal facilities throughout the 2022 fiscal year. The actions highlighted in the report show the City’s progress and multiple approaches toward meeting our climate and efficiency goals and implementing essential improvements and upgrades to the municipal facilities. The report was presented to the CCS School Board on November 3rd, 2022. You can read the report and executive summaries on the EWMP website: Charlottesville.gov/EnergyWater Environmental Sustainability: Imagine a Day Without Water: The City, Albemarle County Service Authority, and Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority held their 8th annual Imagine a Day without Water Art Contest. The contest received 248 art entries from Charlottesville and Albemarle County youth artistically conveying the Value of Water. The winners of the art contest, including a community voted fan favorite, were announced on December 7th via a News Flash. Learn more about the Imagine a Day without Water Art Contest: Charlottesville.gov/ArtContest Environmental Sustainability: Water Conservation Survey: The City and Albemarle County Service Authority are conducting a Community Water Conservation Survey with the assistance of the UVA Center for Survey Research - BeHeardCVA. The survey focused on the community’s awareness around the City and ACSA’s water conservation programs and the community’s water saving behaviors. The survey ran from November 16th - December 7th. Facilities Development: By-Pass Fire Station – Based on our most recent cost estimates, we may be $1M over budget on bid day for Bypass Fire Station (inflation, yet again). We have already value engineered the project to the point that we cannot design this project to reduce the cost, if it is over budget. If we want to proceed to Construction Documentation, we must release the A&E firm to continue designing, as they are contractual obligated to design to budget, unless instructed to proceed otherwise. We recommend we continue designing and find out through the bidding process what the project will cost to construct, as we are seeing wildly variant bids, and we may see a favorable bid environment. (If the City has no tolerance for increasing the budget beyond the approx. $5.5M we have budgeted, it may make sense to curtail our design work not and save further outlay, but again, we think it makes sense to stay the course at this point, as the savings realized would be small. We have been working on this project for some time, and the Fire Department does not feel like the current facility is viable long term). • Social Services – Director Sue Moffett (she/her) The Department of Social Services celebrated National Adoption Month in November 2022. The Department celebrated sixteen (16) children who were adopted this year. In addition, the Department 10 was recently honored as the Champion Employer of the Year by the Charlottesville Regional Office of the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services. Finally, Blair Sith, Benefit Programs Supervisor, recently provided training on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application process for the Hunger Action Coalition members. Food justice partners are working to ensure every household knows about and accesses available SNAP benefits. Should any member of the Charlottesville community need assistance please contact the Department of Social Services at 434-970-3400 for additional information/ Comuníquese con el Departamento de Servicios Sociales al 434-970-3400 para obtener información adicional. • Utilities – Director Lauren Hildebrand (she/her) The colder months of winter increase the potential for frozen pipes, and the Department of Utilities wants to remind everyone of the importance of winterizing their home’s plumbing. Protecting your home from damage caused by ruptured water pipes due to freezing will save you the headache and inconvenience of costly repairs and interrupted service. Simple step-by-step instructions on measures that help prevent pipes from freezing will be sent to customers in the December edition of the Utilities electronic newsletter and can also be found by visiting www.charlottesville.gov/water. The Department of Utilities provides customers with several resources to help ease the stress of paying their utility bill, including the Charlottesville Gas Assistance Program (GAP). GAP is designed to help those individuals heating with natural gas who, although in financial need, do not qualify for State Fuel Assistance or whose State Assistance allocation has been exhausted. More information on GAP, including program eligibility requirements, will be sent to customers in Utilities’ December electronic newsletter, and can also be found by visiting www.charlottesville.gov/utilities. If you would like to donate to GAP, donations can be mailed to Utility Billing at P.O. Box 591 Charlottesville, VA 22902. Please make checks payable to “City of Charlottesville” with “GAP” in the memo section. You can also make donations at City Hall during regular business hours Mon-Fri. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and helps ensure the program can assist the greatest number of people possible. The Department of Utilities is plugged into state and federal resources that help customers decrease the burden of household expenses, such as the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). Administered by The Virginia Department of Social Services and Promise Network, LIHWAP provides funds to help eligible households throughout the state pay their water and/or wastewater bill. More information on LIHWAP can be found at www.virginialihwap.com or by calling 888-373-9908 from 7AM- 7PM, Mon-Sat. Charlottesville Utilities cannot accept or process applications. APPOINTEES AND ELECTED OFFICIAL UPDATES • Circuit Court – Honorable Lizelle Dugger, Clerk of Circuit Court (she/her) No update at this time • Commissioner of the Revenue – Commissioner Todd Divers (he/him) No update at this time 11 • Finance Office – Director Chris Cullinan (he/him) No update at this time • Treasurer’s Office - Treasurer Jason Vandever (he/him) The Treasurer’s office is currently processing the 2nd half of the 2022 real estate and personal property tax bills. As previously advertised, the due date was moved from December 5th to December 19th to allow taxpayers more time to make payments. Please get in touch with the Treasurer's Office if you did not receive a tax bill. Our office is also pleased to announce that in addition to appointments, we are now accepting walk-ins for our DMV Select services, Monday-Friday until 4 PM. • Voter Registrar – Registrar Taylor Yowell (she/her) No update at this time 12