ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
Move over, Fairfax County, Hampton, Norfolk and Richmond. Roanoke may be getting its own professional lobbyist in Richmond, too.
City Council on Monday will decide whether to hire a "legislative liaison" who would watch out for the city government's interests during the upcoming 45-day General Assembly session. Since 1977, that duty has been performed by City Attorney Wilburn Dibling.
The likely hire is Thomas A. Dick, a former lobbyist for electric cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Under the proposal, Dick would be paid $21,000 plus expenses to review state legislation and talk to House and Senate lawmakers on the city's behalf during the session, which starts next week. The contract also maps out other services Dick would perform in the remainder of the year.
"I think we need representation [in Richmond]," Councilman Jack Parrott said. "I think it could mean something to us in terms of getting money down there and getting legislation passed. We just don't have the staff to do that."
Proposals for a city lobbyist date back to at least 1988, when then-Councilman David Bowers suggested the city hire a lobbyist to represent the city's interests in Washington, D.C. That idea fell flat.
In 1990, then-Vice Mayor Bev Fitzpatrick proposed hiring a full-time employee for the job. That idea died after then-Councilman Robert Garland publicly questioned the expenditure, wondering why taxpayers should "hire someone to represent us when we have people elected to represent us."
The proposal resurfaced quietly late last summer in City Council's legislative committee, a panel responsible for putting together the city's annual "wish list" for state legislation. It came from Dibling.
Dibling said Friday that his office's workload is growing faster than his staff, and the pace of action in Richmond is increasing each year.
"The biggest issue is being there in Richmond [full time], where you can act quickly to have significant impact," Dibling said. "It's mighty hard to act quickly when you're sitting here in Roanoke. We're losing influence by being so far away."
Dick, who lives in the Richmond area, was one of four applicants who responded to advertisements in Roanoke and Richmond in the fall. Interviews were conducted last week.
Dibling said Dick's $21,000 annual fee - which is $4,000 per year more than members of the House of Delegates are paid and $3,000 more than Bowers' annual salary as mayor - was reached through negotiation. The city also will reimburse expenses of up to $500 per month.
Dick, who could not be reached for comment, is the son of Richard Dick, the former chairman of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors.
From 1985 until last year, he worked as a full-time employee of the electric cooperatives, where he directed governmental relations in three states. His wife, Alicia, is a Roanoke native who once served as a legislative aide for Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke.
"He's a real good boy," Thomas said of Dick. "He's well respected down there, and that's something that doesn't come easily. You have to earn that."
Besides lobbying and reviewing legislation, Dick would:
*Monitor the progress of legislation that is of interest to the city.
*Help the city prepare for legislative sessions.
*Hold weekly telephone briefings with city officials and issue a weekly report on the status of legislation of interest to the city and a final report at the end of the session.
*Visit Roanoke once before the session and once after to brief local officials.
*Help prepare the city's annual legislative program.
*Attend regular meetings the Virginia Municipal League holds for its members' lobbyists.
According to the VML, local government lobbyists are common in Richmond for larger jurisdictions, but most of them are full-time employees of local governments. Dick is a contract lobbyist.
The General Assembly in 1994 enacted a law that allows localities to hire contract lobbyists. Both Lynchburg and Spotsylvania County have them, while some other jurisdictions have hired lobbying talent for specific issues.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB