RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After a city councilwoman threatened legal action, Richmond is following its own city code and sharing its spending records with the public -- which it hasn't done in several years. On Thursday, March 26, Mayor Danny Avula released Richmond's payment registry -- or a granula r list of city spending -- for fiscal year 2025. The lengthy Excel sheet details more than 130,000 transactions amounting to just over $2.9 billion. Since 2015, under its city code, Richmond has been required to release such a registry on an annual basis to promote transparency. However, before Thursday, it hadn't done so since 2019 -- something Richmond city councilwoman Kenya Gibson saw as a major issue. When speaking to 8News in early March, she said she was prepared to take legal action against the Avula administration if it did not step up and deliver this spending data. PREVIOUS: Gibson explains why a subpoena may be issued to Mayor Avula, other Richmond leaders over city transparency It's worth noting that Avula became Richmond's mayor in 2025, meaning these payment registries stopped being shared under his predecessor, former mayor Levar Stoney. In a press release, the city described Avula's move to publish the city's fiscal year 2025 payment registry as "part of a broader initiative to address long-standing operational challenges within city government, especially the Finance Department and ensure that the city’s commitment to transparency is supported by reliable systems and processes." Richmond's Department of Finance has been under significant scrutiny since Avula took office, with several audit reports uncovering longstanding issues. The 2015 reporting requirement -- which was established by a Richmond City Council ordinance -- "has not functioned as intended," according to the city. The Avula administration intends to review said ordinance, "including internal workflows, staff training and technology needs." RELATED: Avula continues work on Richmond’s audit backlog, but several issues remain unfixed "Good policy only works if it can be implemented,” Avula said in the release. "We’re taking a clear-eyed look at what hasn’t been working, fixing the gaps and putting in place processes that consistently deliver accurate, accessible information to the public." Avula intends to introduce a new ordinance relating to payment registries that, per the city, will "align disclosure requirements with regional practices and state law, as well as update workflows and identify necessary technology improvements to reduce reliance on the labor-intensive manual processes." "Development of the ordinance will be carried out in coordination with the departments responsible for implementation to ensure the requirements are practical, efficient and sustainable," the city said in the release. ...read more read less