The Falls Church City Council will convene in a behind-closed-doors “closed session” Monday night prior to its bi-monthly public business meeting, and Mayor Robin Gardner told the News-Press today that the subject of the closed session will involve the disposition of the City’s water system in the face of the ruling by the Fairfax Circuit Court enjoining the City from taking its usual $2.2 million annual “return on investment” from the system.

Convening such a closed session prior to, rather than following, a business meeting is unusual, and could signal that a major decision will come out of the closed session Monday that will impact legislation of the official public meeting agenda, including decisions about further budget cuts in the current fiscal year. However, it could also be due merely to limitations on the schedules of the City’s legal counsel.

With the new development, the convening of the public meeting of the Falls Church City Council this Monday, Jan. 25, will be delayed to 8:30 p.m.