Managing Community
Investments
Miriam Torres
June 24, 2025
Richmond City Council Meeting
Acting Community Investments Officer
2•JUNE 24, 2025 RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETING
• Background
• CAC Environmental Justice Priorities
• Community Investments Office Goals
• Funds Overview
• Definitions
• Penalty Allocation Breakdown
• Overview of Available Funds
• Local Community Benefits Fund
• Managing Community Investments Action Plan
• Tentative 2025 Timeline
Outline
3•JUNE 24, 2025
Background
• The Air District collects penalties from entities that violate our regulations • In May 2024, the Board of Directors approved the Community Benefits Penalty Funds Policy to direct resources back to the communities where violations occurred and communities most impacted by air pollution • In December 2024, the Board approved staff positions for a new Community Investments Office to develop and manage tailored programs for funding streams generated by enforcement actions
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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Community Investments Office Goals
• Direct funding to projects that improve air quality and public health in areas disproportionately impacted by air pollution
• Increase equitable access to resources, projects, and programs • Collaborate with impacted communities to identify and prioritize air quality related needs and solutions
• Ensure investments are aligned with community needs by engaging local leaders, community-based organizations, businesses, and community members
• Provide timely, clear, and accessible public information regarding penalty assessments and fund availability
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Funds Overview
• The Air District fines entities that violate our regulations and collects penalties • Most individual penalty packages are between $10-$50k (58%) • Most of the penalty dollars collected are from a few large penalty packages exceeding $1 million
• Penalties over $1 million are paid primarily by petroleum refineries and related industry
• Over 90% of the penalties collected in recent years are from this sector • The Community Benefits Penalty Funds Policy and related settlement funds have generated over $124 million
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Policy Definitions
Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Assumption: The amount of assumed general fund revenue derived from penalties in a fiscal year’s adopted budget.
Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap: The amount needed to meet the Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Assumption for the current fiscal year, plus any shortfalls from the previous two years. A shortfall occurs when actual penalties collected in a fiscal year are less than the Fiscal Year Budget Assumption for that Fiscal Year.
Once the Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap has been met, any additional penalties collected will be designated for regional community benefits.
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Definitions
Regional Community Benefits Fund - This fund is designated to:
• Reduce air pollution or mitigate air pollution impacts in overburdened communities.
• Improve health outcomes in communities impacted by air pollution
Local Community Benefits Fund - This fund is designated to:
• Reduce air pollution or mitigate air pollution impacts in overburdened communities.
• Improve health outcomes in the specific community
affected by the air quality violations that led to the penalty.
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Definitions (cont’d)
Richmond Air Quality Community Fund
This fund is designated to:
• reduce particulate matter (PM)
emissions from other sources in the
vicinity of the Richmond Refinery and
to reduce PM exposures for members
of the community
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Local Community
Benefits Fund
(as of December 31, 2024)
*An originating community does not indicate that funds will be limited to a jurisdictional boundary. The geographic
boundaries for distribution of funds will be determined based on Board approved criteria.
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
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Managing Community Investments Action Plan
Action Plan Sample Actions
Managing
Community
Investments
Assess community funding
priorities by June 2025.
Develop proposal for Air District
Board for a community investment
program and strategy by
September 2025.
Implement pilot community
investment initiative by
December 2026
Community Investments
Environmental Justice
Human Resources
Finance
Strategic Incentives
Legal
Communications
Divisions Working Together
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
13•
Tentative 2025 Timeline*
April – June: Community Engagement to Identify
Community Priorities
July – August: Staff Develop Guidelines
September: Draft Program Guidelines
Released for Public Comment
October: 30-day Public Comment Period on
Draft Guidelines
November: Final Program Guidelines Approved
by Board
December: Program Guidelines Released and
Applications Open for all Grant
Programs
*Timeline subject to change depending on timing of hiring and onboarding of Community Investments Office staff.
Public Priorities Identified
through Meetings & Survey
Public Review & Comment
Public Webinar Kick-off
Outreach &
Communications
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025
For more information:
14 Questions/Feedback
[email protected]
• RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGJUNE 24, 2025