🚀 go-pugleaf

  BW> From: bwalsh@access1.digex.net (Bill Walsh)

  BW> Peter Kronenberg <pak@panix.com> wrote:
  BW> 
  > But Falls Church is *in* Fairfax County, isn't it?  I'm just moving to
  > the area (from New Jersey) and I'm real confused at how the city/county
  > structure works in Northern Va.

  BW> Yes, it is pretty strange. As I understand it, true "cities" in
  BW> Virginia cannot also be part of counties. Falls Church is
  BW> *geographically* in Fairfax County, but it's not part of the county.

This is correct.  A city and a county are at the same level (roughly), so far
as the Commonwealth is concerned -- they're the top jurisdictions /within/ the
state.  Here's a curio, dragging this silly thread even further from either DC
or Dining: in terms of protocol, who's the next-highest to the President, in
the event that Billary decides to have lunch with a Senator, a Congressman, a
Shadow Senator, a non-voting Rep, a Governor, a Mayor, and eleventy other
politicos?

The answer is... Hizzoner Da Mayor.  Or Heroner, whichever.  A mayor is
considerd to be more totally in control (DC is obviously a major exception) of
his or her city than any of the other people over their respective areas.  So
the Mayor gets to shake Billary's hand first.


  BW> But then there's the town of Vienna, which *is* in Fairfax County but
  BW> also has a distinct (incorporated?) identity.

I haven't quite figured that out, although my address is soon to change to
Vienna (despite my not moving into Vienna!).  Vienna has a town council, it has
a mayor (I believe), it has a police force.  It doesn't have its own school
system or library system.  It doesn't have its own fire service.  It does have
its own water & sewer arrangement, although I think that's under contract from
FCWA and WSSC.  They license their own dogs, too.  But they are "of" Fairfax
[county], while Fairfax City and Falls Church are not.