Richmond residents have gained a 60-day extension on the deadline to pay vehicle taxes and the city license fee on vehicles, and hundreds of Richmond mothers frantically seeking to buy baby formula will gain significant help through a new initiative.

Those are among the key items that City Council approved Tuesday at a special meeting.

The nine-member council backed Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s proposal to extend the payment period for taxes and city licenses from Monday, June 6, until Friday, Aug. 5.

No penalty or interest will be assessed for payments received or postmarked by Aug. 5, officials have said.

City Hall is following the example of Chesterfield and Henrico counties, which pre- viously extended their payment deadlines.

The action came after city officials and council members received a barrage of calls, emails and texts from residents objecting to the short period to pay. Bills went out in mid-May, leaving only about two weeks for taxpayers to get their payments in.

The council in late April approved the mayor’s plan to cut tax bills by 20 percent in recognition of the unusual apprecia- tion in the value of used cars and trucks, essentially leaving bills similar to 2021 payment amounts.

Council also cleared the way for the Stoney administration to work with the non- profit Urban Baby Beginnings to distribute gift cards worth $125 apiece to Richmond mothers to help them buy formula.

With donations pouring in, Urban Baby Beginnings, created and led by Stephanie Spencer, a registered nurse, will be able to provide 1,440 gift cards that will largely be targeted to lower-income mothers who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Pro- gram for Women, Infants and Children.

Under the plan that council approved, Richmond will contribute $25,000, with the rest coming from the area’s foodbank, Feedmore, and six other charities, the Robins Foundation, The Community Foundation, the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation, the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation and the Jackson Foundation.

“I can’t think of anything more important than making sure our babies have the nourishment they need to grow and thrive,” Mayor Stoney said in announcing the funding.

Ms. Spencer called the initiative one way to help mothers with children under the age of one.

The gift cards would enable those receiving the cards to buy formula that the WIC program does not cover, according to the city Office of Children and Families, which is credited with the idea.

Currently, the WIC program only allows purchases of Similac and other formulas that Abbott Pharmaceuticals produces. Those formulas have virtually disappeared from store shelves since Abbott was forced to close its largest formula production plant in the winter after some of the product was found to be contaminated and unsafe.

Abbott announced plans to restart production at the Michigan plant on Saturday, June 4, after receiving clearance from government regulators, but the company has indicated that full production might not be restored for two to three months.