Fairfax council adopts ordinance setting procedures for contacting city attorney

The Fairfax City Council adopted an ordinance amending chapter 20 to clarify procedures for soliciting legal advice and to align the city code with a December 9 resolution that previously changed attorney-contact practices.

Council members said the ordinance removes a sentence about attorney compensation that had not been used, deletes the clerk from a list of officials who may request legal advice, and adds a sentence stating that procedures for soliciting legal advice shall be done in accordance with a policy set by city council. One member told the council the attorney had previously opined the resolution conflicted with existing ordinances; the council chose to amend the ordinance rather than rely solely on the resolution.

Members discussed recent legal bills in relation to the change. A councilmember estimated two recent matters had cost roughly $15,000 combined; members said the ordinance is intended to increase transparency and reduce unilateral contacts with the city attorney that can generate unexpected expense. A councilmember also noted the specific draft edits had not yet been reviewed by the city attorney.

During the public comment period, resident Barbara Connor asked how often Fairfax had adopted similar limits and questioned whether involving more people in contacting the attorney was necessary. Bernie Preeton and others said involving more people could allow issues to be resolved locally without lawyer involvement.

The council moved, suspended additional readings as allowed, and gave final approval by roll call. The transcript records aye votes on the roll calls and no recorded no votes; the motion passed. The ordinance text and an associated council policy were referenced in discussion, but an exact effective date for the ordinance was not specified in the meeting record.