Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9309050301
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray L. Garland
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The first two options would appear to be off the table. In the case of Roanoke, county voters have twice rejected consolidation, the last time in 1990. Since the more populous suburban counties gained immunity from annexation in the '70s, there have been two reapportionments of the legislature. Each time, the older cities have lost clout, and that will only get worse.
Under Virginia law, cities are independent of the county or counties that surround them while towns remain integral to the counties in which they are located. Towns possess most of the powers given to cities, but they also share in (and influence) the governance of their host county. Expansion of town boundaries is generally unopposed because the residents annexed to towns continue as citizens and taxpayers of the county.
It is this unusual twist in state law that has caused many to wonder aloud whether a quick solution for the plight of Virginia's cities couldn't be found in the simple expedient of surrendering the charter. In that scenario, a city would be telling the county, ``We are yours and you are ours.''
But how easily can a city give up its charter? Not very. State law provides a means for cities with fewer than 50,000 residents to revert to the status of towns, but not for those with more than 50,000. That would require a special act of the legislature, and it's impossible to imagine it being done without the consent of the affected county.
While several counties in Tidewater have become cities with relative ease, ingesting smaller cities, there is only one instance of a city trying to become a town. The results, thus far, are hardly auspicious. South Boston, a city of only 7,000 is seeking to become a town in Halifax County. But the case is still on appeal to the state Supreme Court because neither the city nor the county liked the terms and conditions imposed by a three-judge panel.
The entry of South Boston voters into county politics would have a significant, but hardly dominating, effect. There would still be four times as many voters in Halifax County residing outside South Boston. But the population of the city of Roanoke is still substantially larger than the county's, which means that a future town of Roanoke could call the shots.
Roanoke's situation is at least simplified by the fact that it was formed from a single county. Richmond, on the other hand, grew by taking from two counties. If it became a town, would it be in Henrico County or Chesterfield? Or both? Here we trespass upon realms beyond the wisdom of Solomon.
How serious are the problems of Virginia's cities? Clearly, there's nothing here even approaching conditions in Jersey City or East St. Louis. All of Virginia's cities retain very high credit ratings on their bonded debt, which gives you a good outside estimate of fundamental strength. For the present, that is. It is the likely continuation of existing trends that creates a sense of growing unease.
Generally, the cities are spending more per capita on essential services, and doing it from a smaller personal-income base, than the suburban counties. All this might be summed up under the headline, ``The poor breed (and get into trouble with the law) while the rich flee.''
There are things the General Assembly could do to make life easier for all local governments in Virginia, such as uniform nuisance taxes collected by the state and remitted to the localities. It could even grant them a share of lottery profits or another half-cent on the sales tax. For many of our cities, these would be more in the sphere of palliatives than lasting solutions.
Gov. Douglas Wilder took note of these issues when he recently signed an executive order creating The Governor's Advisory Commission on the Revitalization of Virginia's Urban Areas. Secretary of the Commonwealth Scott Bates, who will chair the panel, said it would ``give a new focus to the urban agenda that will go beyond this administration.'' As this governor has only six months left, let's hope so.
Faced with grandiose designs, it's often best to focus on a single specific. Could a city like Roanoke put itself in a better posture to face the future by holding a going-out-of-business sale? Yes, I believe it could, but not to become a town. That would hardly be acceptable to the county, and it would perpetuate most of the existing problems, such as separate school systems, under a new name. For all practical purposes, modern counties function as cities. What difference does it make what you call a thing?
Previous efforts at consolidation in the Roanoke Valley failed because it was pitched to the county on the basis of ``We're big brother; we know best; we'll take you over and all will be well.'' Why not turn it around? Pay the county the compliment of saying, ``We're all in this together; we trust you enough to be the one that does the merging.''
Consolidation is no panacea for the ills of urban America, but there are several cases in Virginia where it would address the heart of the problem, which is to provide a unified approach to important local issues in the context of a balanced body politic.
A negotiated settlement of this kind, acceptable to both sides, would sail through the General Assembly. That's more than can be said for such pipedreams as renewed annexation or a tax on commuters.
\ Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times & World-News columnist.
by CNB