Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990                   TAG: 9006280805
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Joel Turner MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LOBBYIST FOR CITY PROPOSED

Fitzpatrick said a legislative liaison - who would be a city employee - could work to get more state money for schools, a proposed convention center, an expanded regional sewage treatment plant, the Roanoke-Blacksburg highway and other projects.

The Roanoke Valley is fortunate to have "one of the finest elected delegations" in the General Assembly, he said, but a full-time city representative in Richmond could help the legislators pull in more state money for the city and monitor legislation.

"Having someone always there on constant vigil or working on the other senators and delegates on projects can assist our elected senators and delegates and enhance their ability to help us," Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said the legislative liaison would not be a lobbyist in the traditional sense because he or she would be on the city payroll.

But some council members have reservations about the proposal because they say the city's legislators and other officials do a good job of representing the city's interests.

"It rubs me the wrong way to hire someone to represent us when we have people elected to represent us," Councilman Robert Garland said.

"For a city to pay $30,000 to $40,000 for someone to represent us, this could get out of hand. The next move might be to hire someone to represent us in Washington," Garland said.

Councilman David Bowers recalled that he suggested two years ago that Roanoke hire a Washington lobbyist to help it attract more federal money. Bowers thought Democrat Michael Dukakis was going to be elected president and new federal programs would be developed to provide more aid for cities. But Dukakis lost and the lobbyist proposal was dropped.

City Attorney Wilburn Dibling develops Roanoke's legislative proposals each year and makes frequent trips to Richmond when the General Assembly is in session to consult with the city's legislators and represent the city at important hearings.

City Council has referred Fitzpatrick's proposal to City Manager Robert Herbert and other top city officials for study and a report.

About 20 legislative liaisons from cities and counties, mostly in the fast-growing region from Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads, were in Richmond earlier this year for the General Assembly session.

The legislative liaisons are not required to register as lobbyists, but bills have been introduced in recent years that would require them to register. The bills have been killed.

Fairfax County, the state's most populous locality, had a three-member legislative team in Richmond during the recent session. In some localities such as Loudoun County, the legislative liaisons work as assistants to the county administrator and return home when the legislature is not in session.

As suburban counties have grown rapidly, they have requested special laws and powers to deal with the rapid development. Because more than half of the 2,000 bills considered by the General Assembly each session pertain to local governments, some counties and cities say they need someone in Richmond to monitor the legislation.