“I appreciate the General Assembly’s rightful concern about VCU Health System’s management of capital projects, but I believe that the state has misdirected their concerns by calling for VCU to back-out of a contract to avoid paying taxes to the City of Richmond.
“Let’s be clear, when the City of Richmond negotiated a contract to sell the property to a private developer, Capital City Partners, in order build a project that would be anchored by VCU Health System as a tenant, the City of Richmond was intentional to ensure that the developer and any subsequent owner of the property was paying their fair share in real estate taxes to support city services. VCU Health System contractually obligated itself to pay the City of Richmond and their legal obligation remains binding. Why would the City of Richmond sell property to a private developer, VCU Health System, or any other organization without ensuring the city’s needs are addressed?
“The City of Richmond is in a unique position. Because of the high proportion of state government buildings and VCU Health System buildings, the city is unable to collect a sizable amount of real estate taxes – the largest source of revenue for the city. This means that although VCU Health System’s leadership, students, and staff rely on city services, like well-maintained roads, Fire and EMS, and world-class parks, the institution does not contribute to the cost of those services the way other property owners do. It is our duty to our residents to correct this imbalance when such an opportunity presents itself.
“Just because VCU Health System has had limited responsibility for paying real estate taxes historically, does not mean that’s the way it should always be. The VCU Health System community makes many contributions to our city and we’re glad to partner with them on a myriad of projects.
“But, VCU Health System should not be looking for ways to get around paying their fair share and the state should not be in the business of negating legally-binding contracts.”