Race-Base Accounting

Black political strength grew in Richmond in the 1960s. By 1969 Richmond's population was 52% black. In the Holt case the Supreme Court concluded that the annexation of 23 square miles of Chesterfield County by the city of Richmond in 1970 was entered into primarily for the purpose of maintaining white control. Richmond's annexation violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black citizens groups sought a deannexation order. The outcome turned on whether there were administrative and economic benefits to the city of Richmond. The city argued that the higher socioeconomic levels of the suburbanites in the annexed area would produce a surplus of revenues over expenditures. Differences in cost between the city and the annexed area in terms of functional area, base year ana lyzed, and service levels complicated the decision. The district court concluded there was a net administrative and economic benefit to the city. Much work is needed to develop useful management and service delivery records and to formulate a methodology to measure the impact on annexation.