Evening star., 1961-07-06
Fight for City Status
Pushed by Fairfax
Backs Petition
To Win Charter
From Assembly
BY JOHN LAWSON
Star Staff Writer

Supervisors voted yesterday to
continue the county's fight for
city status and to reopen a two
year-old annexation suit with
the new City of Fairfax.
The supervisors agreed to
urge continued attempts at
consolidation into a city in
order to protect the county's
land from annexation.
They also decided to push a
petition drive for a city charter
at the January session of the
General Assembly.
In addition, they passed a
series of motions concerning
the county's relations with the
new City of Fairfax, which
switched from town to city
status last week.
The supervisors confirmed
formally an earlier decision to
appeal a Circuit Court ruling
which thwarted the county's
first attempt to achieve city
status through consolidation
with the small town of Clifton.
Back Petition Drive
On a motion by Supervisor
William H. Moss the board gave,
its support to a countrywide
petition drive conducted by
the Federation of Citizens AS
sociations, the League of Wom-
en- Voters, the County Chamber
of Commerce and a new group,
the Citizens for a Consolidated
City.
Those organizations all had
been campaigning for a favor
able vote on consolidation with.
Clifton at a July II referen-r
dunn.
Last Friday, however, Circuit
Court Judge Paul E. Brown,
who originally set the July II
referendum date. called it off,
saying there were inconsistent
cies in the law.
Plead for Charter
The four countrywide organi-
cations decided over the week
end to circulate petitions urg-
ing the General Assembly to
grant the county a city charter.
The motion authorizing the
appeal of Judge Browns ruling
was made by Supervisor A.
Claiborne Leigh.
He suggested the case be
taken to the Supreme Court of
Appeals to find out what the
(conSolidation) statute means
The county should know, he
said, in case it should later at
tempt another consolidation.
Supervisor Stuart Debell OBJ
jected that the appeal would
be waste of time and money"
since the law governing con-
solidation is unclear.
Supervisor James Keith
agreed, In any event, he said,
the appeal could not be COM
pleted before the Legislature
meets in January.
Mr.. Keith also offered three
motions authorizing the county
to hire fiscal experts to de-
termine how much money the
new city of Fairfax would have
to pay the county.
Ask School Assurance
Under the 1859 annexation
ruling, whereby the former
Town of Fairfax annexed 1920
acres, the town was told it
would have to pay the county
for losses in tax revenue If
it became a city.
Mr.. Keith also moved that
the county assure the children
in the new city that they will
not be deprived of school this
fall.
The City Of Fairfax has no
schools, but the county will
permit its children to continue
attending county schools pro-
viding the city pays tuition.
Mr.. Keith's final motion au-
thorized county officials to ne
gotiate with the city to deter
mine which county services the
city will want to continue and
what price they woud have to
pay.
The supervisors also ap-
pointed Mrs. John S. Holland
to the Board of Public Welfare.
She is the first Negro to be
appointed to a Fairfax County
board or commission. Mrs.
Holland will serve out the un-
expired term of Mrs. Wayne
Burt, who resigned. The term
expires July /, 1862.