Richmond, Va. — The city of Richmond is facing growing concerns over its recently launched four-cent rebate program after several thousand residents received incorrect rebate checks. The issues, ranging from checks with wrong names and addresses to checks being issued to nonexistent recipients, have raised alarm over the city’s financial department’s communication and organizational practices.
In response to these errors, City Auditor Riad Ali has announced that an official audit will be conducted to investigate the causes behind the mishaps and ensure that the rebates were properly calculated in line with city rules. Ali emphasized that his office would be seeking “reasonable assurance” that future rebates would be processed accurately and that recommendations would be made to strengthen the city’s financial systems.
M.B., a former employee of the Richmond Finance Department, spoke to 8News about his experience working in the department during the period when the rebate issues began. M.B., who started working in the department in March, raised concerns about the internal communication and organization that he observed. He stated that the errors and lack of transparency left him questioning whether other problems, like inaccurate rebate calculations, had gone unnoticed.
“It was more disappointing because you wouldn’t expect that from your government,” M.B. said, reflecting on the experience. He added that after discovering the mistakes with the checks, he was tasked with verifying the accuracy of the names and amounts on new checks. However, he found that despite raising questions about discrepancies, he did not receive the necessary support or explanations to correct them.
In total, approximately 8,300 residents were affected by the errors. Some rebate checks were sent to incorrect addresses, while 156 checks were issued to nonexistent addresses, and even properly issued checks bounced due to insufficient funds. In the wake of these mistakes, city leaders reassured residents that no sensitive taxpayer information had been compromised and that the department would cancel and reissue the affected checks.
On April 21, Jamie Atkinson, the Director of Revenue Administration, resigned from her position, and Sheila White, the Senior Director of the Finance Department, was appointed to oversee the ongoing tax rebate process. The city has also outlined a process for residents who incurred bank fees while trying to cash the incorrect checks. Affected individuals are encouraged to submit a request for reimbursement via RVA311, with the deadline for submissions set for May 30.
The audit led by City Auditor Riad Ali aims to identify the root causes of the errors and offer recommendations to improve the efficiency and reliability of future city rebate programs. M.B. expressed hope that the findings of the audit would prevent similar issues from occurring in the future, stressing the importance of public trust in government operations.
“At the end of the day, we all pay the price if we’re not able to confidently trust that our government is competent and consistent in what they’re doing,” M.B. said.
As the city moves forward with the audit, residents who were affected by the rebate errors will be awaiting further steps and assurances from city officials to prevent such a situation from happening again.
