Amid escalating controversy and wide-spread criticism, both inside and outside city government, Mayor Levar M. Stoney took the stage at City Hall on Wednesday morning and made an effort to clear the air during a press conference.

“There have been some who said that we have not been transparent enough or visible enough,” Stoney said. “I wanted to call this press conference to answer your questions and to correct the record.”

The press conference followed months of reports of misconduct among City employees and questions about the meals tax, and the state of local government and its operations. Stoney, while conceding room for improvement in City government, defended his administration’s commitment to accountability and excellence and expressed frustration with criticism of their work.

“Frankly, I’m tired of people shit-talking my city,” Stoney said.

When it came to the misuse of procurement cards by City employees, Stoney stressed that these incidents accounted for 1% of the 336 employees that have one, the rest of whom are “in good standing.”

He also said that work to address meals tax issues is underway.

Stoney also celebrated the work of City employees, from the Procurement Department’s Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award from the National Procurement Institute to the work of the Department of Public Utilities to modernize operations and serve the public.

“Despite what some might say, our Procurement Department is top-notch,” Stoney said, “and I will not let the poor judgment of some define the work of all of these employees. Period.”

While the press conference was meant to quell concerns over the state of City government, issues still remain. Stoney confirmed during a Q&A session that followed that multiple employees in the Department of Finance were recently fired but didn’t provide further specifics.

Stoney also challenged the characterization of City Hall as dysfunctional and in need of the major changes presented by candidates for City Council earlier in the week, seeing their comments as part of their campaigns for office.

“Richmond is better than it was a decade ago,” Stoney said. “Not just the people in general or just the city in general, City Hall is better than it was 10 years ago. That’s a fact.”