FY 27 budget first look

 

Goochland supervisors took the next step in firming up the FY27 budget as County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley presented his recommended budget on February 17. (Go to https://goochlandva.new.swagit.com/videos/375367 to https:

Raley began by introducing Denise Sandlin, newly hired director of finance, and commending interim finance director Dave Wilson, who “jumped in” last November to work closely with Raley on budget matters. The proposed budget is the product of many months of work and collaboration with department heads and constitutional officers who made compromises along the way but is just a milestone on the road to final budget approval in May. Tax rates will be advertised in March and set in April. The supervisors cannot impose tax rates higher than advertised but could lower them.

Between now and May, the budget will evolve. Economic development projects, whose assessments were not included in January 2026 values, may come online and provide additional revenue. Unfunded mandates imposed by the General Assembly could also result in changes.

As presented, said Raley, the recommended budget is balanced—revenues equal expenditures—and needs based. The total of $107,760,589 represents a 3.7 percent increase, or $3.82 million, from FY26, reflecting the expected increase in revenues, the majority of which, 51 percent, comes from general property taxes. The numbers are based on retention of the 53 cent per $100 of valuation real estate tax; 32 cent ad valorem tax for the Tuckahoe Creek Service District; and $2.99 personal property tax on vehicles.

Raley revisited the challenge of forecasting revenue streams 18 months in advance that require reconciling fiscal and calendar year assessments and tax collections. He said that there may be opportunities to consider other revenue streams including cost recovery and imposition of fees.

Every budget line was looked at and challenged to ensure that an expenditure was needed and used in the most effective way to achieve strategic goals. Raley said that $3,407,508 in “strategic abandonment” that included renegotiation of copier leases, contracted professional services, reduction in the number of parks and rec events, computer and equipment supplies. (See the presentation for complete list) Those funds were applied elsewhere.

People deliver local government services. New positions included are an information technology director and two dispatchers for the Sheriff’s Office: three fire-rescue positions. Requested but not funded in the proposal include 8 fire-rescue positions; a human resources analyst; a data integration and cyber security analyst for information technology; an environmental inspector and three parks and rec employees.

Personnel costs include a three percent summative raise and the county picking up the entire ten percent increase in health insurance increases; and overtime across all departments and pay raises for election workers.

The proposed local transfer to schools is $31,429,844 overall $46,510,052 pending action by the supervisors and General Assembly. Our school division will present its budget to the board on March 3. The school board and supervisors will hold a joint budget work session on March 17.

Strategic realignment of functions and departments for greater efficiency were also discussed.

Raley turned to the utility $43.5 million budget, which is separate from the county budget and funded with user and connection fees. $16.9 million in bond proceeds will be used to build the Ridgefield booster pump station. Proposed three percent increases in utility rates for residential and commercial and a 2.5 per cent in connection fees would cover increased costs.  New positions, capital improvements, and debt service are in the proposed utility budget. A chart comparing utility rates with those in neighboring counties showed that Goochland’s are in line or a bit lower. (Go to https://www.goochlandva.us/m/newsflash/home/detail/1373 for details.)

These excellent charts, graphs, and numbers tell us that houses do not pay their own way and the county needs more economic development to fund core services. This proposed budget illustrates the importance of the 70/30 commercial to residential revenue ratio.

The supervisors commented Raley on the thoroughness of his recommended budget. They asked that a list of items not funded be prioritized so that when an economic development project comes online revenue it generates can be put to a specific use.

In the coming weeks, pencils will be sharpened, citizen input will be solicited, and midnight oil will be burned to arrive at the final FY27 budget. Stay tuned and be involved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Event

 

From fire to ice

 

The Hon. Amanda Adams swears in new recruits

After a local church burned to the ground seventy-five years ago, a group of intrepid Goochlanders created the county’s first volunteer fire company. Over the years, the organization evolved by adding emergency medical services and companies throughout the county and is now a combination agency where career providers work side by side with well-trained volunteers to save lives and protect property.

On February 11, the 2025 promotional and recruit graduation ceremony was held in the high school auditorium to recognize those who earned higher rank and formally welcome into the fire-rescue family recruits from three academies, the career fire-EMS recruits, volunteer EMT class, and the pre-certified fire-EMS academy for those with credentials from other agencies.

Officers promoted have impressive resumes. Some who volunteer in Goochland are career in other jurisdictions and generously share their time and talents. Many Goochland career officers got their start in the fire service as volunteers and made this very special form of community service their life’s work. They all bring commitment and dedication to excellence in their positions.

Heartfelt remarks by speakers indicated the regard with which they hold their profession and the trust placed in them by the community.

The Hon. Amanda Adams, Clerk of the Goochland Circuit Court, administered the oath of office to all recruits and officers.

Goochland County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley said that by completing this training, the recruits demonstrated a tremendous investment of time, effort and dedication to this noble profession. Class members included Military vets, a Rotarian, a private pilot, and holders of bachelor’s and graduate degrees, a diversity that will enrich the department. The common thread is that each chose a path of sacrifice, resilience, and courage to serve their community.

Raley observed that the recruits could have pursued this career in many places but chose Goochland, which “speaks to the strength of our community and reputation of our department.”  He thanked families for their support and making sacrifices that enable their firefighters to serve others.

Members of the recruit academy completed 25 weeks, 1,110 hours of intensive training mastering skills that include firefighting, emergency medical technician, hazardous materials response, and emergency vehicle operation. They started last summer when heat indexes were in triple digits and ended in single digit wind chills a few weeks ago.

Goochland partnered with Powhatan Fire & Rescue to leverage resources to conduct the academy.

In addition to the technical skills, the recruits learned teamwork and formed bonds that will service their respective agencies and the region well as they work together in mutual aid situations.

D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson Jr. Chief of Goochland Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services welcomed all to the joyous occasion. He quoted the department’s mission statement: “to provide the highest quality comprehensive fire-emergency medical services, and emergency management in an efficient, effective, accountable, and compassionate manner.”

He thanked the officers for stepping up to take on leadership roles. Ferguson urged the newly promoted to remember those who mentored them and to lead by example. He congratulated the recruits for completing the academy. He also thanked Powhatan County Fire & Rescue Chief David Johnston for collaborating on a joint academy which will strengthen regional cooperation and mutual aid.

Ferguson commended all academy instructors for their hard work and support from all levels of leadership in both counties. By completing the academy, recruits accomplished a lot, made lifelong friendships, and chose the best career on earth.  “Those in our profession are held to a higher standard, your conduct on and off the job is important, never let your guard down. Follow your training to keep safe on emergency scenes. There is no such thing as a routine call.”

Johnston thanked Powhatan supervisors for their support of the academy, which enabled that county to train its first full-time staff. “When we first sat down to discuss the academy, we had confidence that it would be an incredible opportunity and it was.” He too spoke to the importance of family, both at the fire house and home.

“People call us on their worst day because they trust us. That trust is not just built overnight but by generations of fire and EMS both career and volunteer. It’s eminently important that you show up with competence and calm. Your job is to provide the best customer service to make someone’s day better. Take care of each other. It’s okay to ask for help, it doesn’t make you weak. Enjoy the job, it is the best in the world, but don’t let it consume you. Have fun; it will help you not take home some of the things you see. Stay humble, be willing to learn. You’ve learned the badge now it’s time to protect the reputation,” said Johnston.

Goochland Battalion Chief Brandon Proffitt, Chief of Training and Safety, recognized those who made the program possible and successful. He commended the many academy instructors, especially Lts. David Morse and Danny Coughlin, whose hard work made the courses successful.

Coughlin, lead instructor for the academy, said the department set standards high from day one that were not lowered despite early mornings, late nights, physical fatigue, and academic pressure. Three programs, three paths, operating under one uncompromised Standard of excellence, accountability, and commitment to the community.

Lt. Danny Coughlin

The EMT class of 2025 put in more than 200 hours of class instruction, hands on skills, and clinical experience. All are volunteers who dedicated personal time to the program while balancing other life commitments. They had a 100 percent first attempt pass rate. Every member met the standard for the first time. “Emergency medicine does not allow for short cuts, they did not seek out any,” said Coughlin.

Credentials earned elsewhere alone do not define readiness. Over an intensive seven-week all certification readiness academy skills of the precertified recruits were evaluated for competence in firefighter 1 and 2; hazardous materials response; EMT, paramedic, and operational performance. They were brought up to speed on department policy, procedure, and protocols. “They chose to be sharpened and they were,” said Coughlin.

Recruit Academy 2025 completed a full 25-week program. Most are newly hired career firefighters from both Goochland and Powhatan. “They may have different patches on their shoulders, but one standard in their performance. They trained together and leave here united.” One academy graduate is a volunteer who dedicated her personal time to train alongside her career counterparts, a commitment that speaks for itself, said Coughlin.

“Graduates, what this audience sees is success. What I saw over the past year was growth. You accepted responsibility, you built community and demonstrated responsibility. Those are not decorative, they are operational. From this point forward, the public will measure you by how you act when the tones drop. This is where character and your training merge. You’ve exceeded standards, now carry it forward and keep the bar high. Make this community safer because you serve it. Thank you for giving you full effort even when there was nothing left. I’m incredibly proud of each of you. Congratulations, kids, you’ve earned your place, and welcome to the fire service.”

Firefighter Robert Reed, spokesman for the recruit class, said of his 15 classmates, “ten months ago when we began our journey, out of 100 applicants, we lucky few were deemed worthy of the opportunity to become professional firefighters and emergency medical responders, thus our transformation began. Over the last six months we have grown in new and exciting ways. We jumped out of windows, crawled through tunnels, pulled miles of hose, baked at a thousand degrees, learned how to stop-the-bleed, and how to save a life. Each of these skills is essential to the task of being a first responder. But there is something that lies deep within each of us that is arguably more important. Being a firefighter is to be one of the lucky few to do something good while we are here.

“Our covenant with humanity is crucial when disaster strikes our hand is the one that reaches into the abyss and pulls the desperate to safety not for glory but because we will do everything in our power to help our fellow man. We have been blessed with the desire to serve and have acquired the skills to go where others cannot and do what others cannot. We give life when there is none and put out the fire when hell has come.”

Reed also thanked the families for supporting recruits on their arduous journey to graduation.

The 2025 graduates are the latest in a long line of first responders that takes Goochland Fire-Rescue to ever higher standards of excellence. We are blessed by their presence.

 

 

Angels among us

 

Fighting fires is physically, intellectually, and sometimes emotionally demanding. Unlike firefighters on TV who extinguish a complicated blaze and are back in the firehouse by the end of the commercial break, in the real world, fires and other emergency response activities often take many hours and people to resolve.

Fires happen at any time, regardless of weather conditions. Often the elements pose as much of a hazard to responders as the incident.

Fighting Goochland fires in recent extreme condition

                                                    (Goochland fire-rescue images)

Ensuring that firefighters have support to recover and recharge from battling a blaze is vital. Agencies with limited personnel resources like Goochland are blessed to have backup in these situations from the Metro Richmond flying Squad.

D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. Chief of Goochland Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services introduced Chief Rick Talley of the Flying Squad at the February 3 supervisors’ meeting. Talley explained the mission of his organization. A display of some of the Flying Squad’s equipment was set up in the admin building parking lot before the meeting.

Chief Rick Talley

Talley, a retired Chesterfield Fire & EMS battalion chief is a longtime friend and colleague of Ferguson. Talley has also been very active as a volunteer firefighter and district chief in Hanover County, so he understands both sides of the equation and what it takes for rural counties to provide fire and emergency medical services.

The service provided to Goochland Fire-Rescue by the Flying Squad is invaluable, said Ferguson.

Talley said that the Metro Richmond Flying Squad is an all-volunteer responder rehab agency with 38 response volunteers.  It is 100 percent funded as a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. Its membership includes active and retired duty responders both law enforcement and fire, as well as business owners, housewives, retirees, and regular citizens with a servant’s heart who want to help the community.

The Metro Richmond Flying Squad serves eight municipalities covering 2013 square miles from six response stations. They are Goochland, Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, New Kent, Hopewell, Powhatan, and Chesterfield. In 2025, the Squad ran 437 calls for service, 11 of those in Goochland.

Talley explained that rehab and recovery is an intervention designed to mitigate “the things that are messing with firefighters’ physical, physiological, and emotional stress” to sustain a member’s energy, improve performance, and decrease the likelihood of on scene injury or death.  Rehab reduces workers comp claims by fixing things to prevent injury.

When responders get fatigued and become dehydrated, they do not function as well. “That’s when we step in and work on the recovery phase to return the member’s physiological and psychological states to levels that enable them to perform additional emergency tasks, be reassigned, or be released from the scene with no adverse effects.”

The Flying Squad operates under protocols established by the National Fire Protection Association standards of dealing with firefighter health and wellness. These include relief from extreme climate and incident conditions; carcinogen removal and reduction before eating or drinking anything; rest and recovery; rehydration; replacement of calories and electrolytes; active or passive cooling or heating depending on incident types and climatic conditions; and medical assessment and monitoring.

Instant relief from scene conditions can vary. In warm weather conditions, measures, including cooling vests, are needed to quickly reduce body temperature. In cold weather firefighters sweat inside their bunker gear and chill rapidly when they stop working the blaze. The Squad sets up warming tents and has heated vests to counteract hypothermia.  On multi casualty incidents like a plane crash, they need relief from visuals of the carnage provided by a tent. Something as simple as providing dry socks is important during extended operations.

The two big killers of firefighters said Tally are cancer and cardiac events. Flying Squad members address those when they arrive on scene with hydration supplies and carcinogen reduction materials. Dehydration causes a reduction in bodily fluids, which makes the heart blood vessels thicker and blood pressure increases to counteract the depletion. “We start rehydrating them withing three to five minutes, the heart rate and blood pressure comes down, and we reset the cardiac event clock.

“To prevent absorption of carcinogens through the skin, we make firefighters clean up before eating or drinking to avoid inadvertently ingesting them.”

Tally quote the NFPA standard, “rehab is needed and required any time that firefighters are working strenuously without SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) for more than 40 minutes or after the completion of one SCBA cylinder (air bottle), when operating in extreme weather conditions, and during physically or emotionally stressful incident.”

When the Flying Squad is working on an emergency scene where law enforcement is involved, it has an occupant services protocol for people displaced by a house fire that takes care of them as they await the arrival of the Red Cross or similar agencies. It also established an animal rehab protocol, the first in North America, for responder and civilian animals rescued from fires.  

“The bottom line,” said Talley, “is that we take care of our responders and their needs because they have to go to the next scene and the next one. It’s real good stuff. I’m very proud of what we do and where we ‘ve come from,” Talley said of the organization founded in 2017.” We’re here for the firefighters, the citizens, whoever needs us. We’re always looking to continue moving forward we don’t ever sit on our laurels. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve.”

The Flying Squad worked six fires on the Saturday before the storm hit and seven fires the next Saturday and a few in between. The volunteers showed up and never complained, said Talley.

He thanked the supervisors for their support, which included donation of surplus fire-rescue vehicles.

Please visit the Richmond Flying Squad to learn more about its wonderful work at https://rvaflyingsquad.com/.

 

 

 

 

Interesting Reports

 

 

Assessments

Goochland County Assessor Mary Ann Davis presented the results of the 2026 county land assessments to the supervisors at their February 3 meeting.

Assessments reflect the fair market value as of January 1, 2026, said Davis. Notices were mailed to all landowners on January 15. Property owners have until February 17 to appeal their assessments. A call to her office at 804-556-5853 will start the process. This begins with a review of characteristics with the property owner followed by an interior inspection. A review of sales and equalizations is conducted after which the property owner is notified of the results by letter. If the owner is not satisfied with this investigation they have 30 days from the date of the letter to appeal to the Board of Equalization. If the landowner is not satisfied with that ruling the next step is an appeal to Circuit Court.

Davis explained that Goochland uses a mass appraisal approach, valuing “the forest and not the trees”. She went into a detailed explanation of coefficient of dispersion to describe the accuracy of methods used to value property whose results must fall into a narrow variance between assessed values and actual property sales. She opined that this means that 97 out of 100 property sales sell for at least their assessed value. Davis contended that property values in Goochland are the result of a sellers’ market because there are few resales, and new construction costs continue to increase,

The total taxable value of land, excluding new construction and land use, in Goochland increased about five percent from 2025; 81.98 percent residential, 18.02 percent commercial. (The supervisors have a goal of a residential to commercial tax base ratio of 70/30. In 2025, according to a chart presented by Davis, the ratio was 82.2/17.8)

The total taxable value of land in Goochland is $10.3 billion, of which three percent, or $294 million is attributed to new construction—77 percent residential and 23 percent commercial. Fair market value of land in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District is $2.8 billion. Land use (engaged in active agriculture, sylviculture, or horticulture use is taxed on per acre rates established by the state land evaluation council for each county rather than the rate per $100 of valuation that applies to other parcels) $832 million, or $4.7 million in deferred revenue. When property in land use is rezoned a “clawback” consisting of the difference between the land use rate and fair market value rate for a number of years before the rezoning applies. Davis said that the acreage in land use fluctuates year over year but is significant.

To hear the complete assessor’s report, go to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ click on “watch county meetings” select BoS Feb 3. It begins around the 34-minute mark and is well worth a listen.)

VDOT

These are the times that try the souls of those charged with clearing roads. Philip Frazier, administrator of the Ashland VDOT residency, reported about his agency’s role in snow and ice removal from county roads. VDOT is responsible for snow removal on roads in Goochland that are part of the state system.

He said that on the weekend of January 25, the area received about three inches of snow followed by about eight continuous hours of sleet, which packed the snow down and turned it to ice, or as some are calling it, snowcrete. Blessings to all who battled the mess.

“My team has been on a 13-day venture to brine, pretreat, do snow removal in the midst of the storm and do storm cleanup for about a week,” said Frazier. Minor conditions were established on the interstate and primary road system by noon on January 26. Primary routes, 6,250, 522, were clear by Tuesday, the 27^th.  Secondary roads remained in a moderate condition for an extended amount of time.

Historically prolonged cold temperatures complicated VDOT efforts to make all roads passable. Daytime melting led to overnight freezing that made the ice tighter and harder to treat, explained Frazier. Efforts were shifted to applying abrasives—10 parts sand one part salt—to secondary roads to help provide traction for those trying to get out of subdivisions. Though most VDOT resources were shifted to daytime operations, smaller crews worked overnight treating slick spots to prepare for the morning rush hour.

He said that subdivision roads can still expect to see snowpack, but that VDOT crews will “fight it and push at it as long as its slush” through the weekend.

VDOT forces and hired resources worked wide by side throughout the event and continued to work to clean up the ice pack, said Frazier. Resources include heavy construction equipment including motor graders, tractors, and loaders to deal with the ice.

They are restocking salt and sand in anticipation of more winter forecast later this week. Frazier urged caution when traveling as snow piled on road shoulders that melts during the day will refreeze in the cold and dark to create patches of treacherous black ice. He commended his Goochland maintenance leadership team Mark Harlow, Joe Terry, and Bobby Knight and the “unsung heroes the operators, contractors and all of the folks who have partnered with us and supported the residency in the snow removal operation.”

Frazier thanked Goochland for helping to field calls about road conditions and explain VDOT procedures and pass on folks with concerns and complaints.

The supervisors commended VDOT for its efforts.

Public Engagement

Jessica Kronberg, Director of Strategic Communications, shared highlights of communication activities between July 1 and December 31, 2025, the first half of the current fiscal year.

Mechanisms used to share information about county operations include social media, press releases, media relations, and emergency communications. There were more than 1,000 posts on the county’s main platforms, not including parks and rec and animal protection. Goochland County has pages on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

These pages direct viewers to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ for detailed up to date information about things going on in Goochland. Between July and December, the county website had 1.8 million hits. Kronberg said that it was recently redesigned to improve navigation and continues to be tweaked to increase user satisfaction.

The most searched topics were energov (land use and permitting software), pet adoptions, TOD, GIS, board of supervisors, and dogs.

A weekly newsletter, Goochland at a glance is currently distributed to 194 subscribers with a 76 percent open rate. The county also has mobile apps available at both the Apple and Google Play stores for download to receive push notifications and other alerts. Go to https://goochlandva.us/list.aspx to sign up for delivery to your inbox.

Last year Kronberg collaborated with Director of Emergency Management Robin Hillman, and Paul Drumwright, Community Affairs Manager, to implement a new crisis communication system that as 20 different preapproved, predesigned emergency scenario templates to enable rapid dissemination of information to citizens. “Goochland Alerts Powered by Everbridge”, the system went live on January 16. It was used during the water main break in Lower Tuckahoe to communicate with affected homeowners and to message county employees during weather closings.

Kronberg’s department provides high quality photographs available to media outlets (thank you Jessica!) Strategic Communications maintains displays on the monitors in the administration building, print materials and mailers, and an internal employee newsletter.

An engaged citizenry is vital to good government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frigid February

 

More winter ahead?

The afternoon session of the Goochland Board of Supervisors’ February 3 meeting found three supervisors physically present. Neil Spoonhower District 2 was absent for a work commitment, but attended the evening session, and Charlie Vaughters, District 4, took time from “professional responsibilities” to attend virtually.

County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley, Ed.D. began his remarks by sharing a “debt of gratitude and appreciation for the amazing work of my teammates” for dealing with the dreadful weather conditions that have Goochland under siege. He commended the entire staff, regardless of role, for exceptional teamwork. He cited fire-rescue, the Sheriff’s Office, and animal protection for serving bravely and admirably under challenging conditions.

He cited Emergency Management Coordinator Robin Hillman and Maj. Mike East of the Sheriff’s Office for opening the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and staffing it around the clock. Dispatch, the county nerve center for emergency response, handled many calls and deployed fire-rescue units and personnel to two structure fires.

Jessica Kronberg, Director of Strategic Communications, and Paul Drumwright, Community Affairs Manager, kept citizens informed.

The Department of Social Servies opened a warming shelter and was ready to staff it. Animal protection officers provided water for livestock owners with frozen water sources. Deputies responded to motorists and others in need of assistance.

Raley commended the public utilities staff for responding to a water main break in Lower Tuckahoe in 14-degree weather. They waded into mud to restore service to affected homes before nightfall. During the water main break, Kronberg and Hillman worked with Raley using the new Everbridge emergency communications system to communicate with impacted citizens and even “geofence” specific homes to keep them informed of progress in restoration of their water service.

Consent agenda

Board meetings typically include a consent agenda of “housekeeping” matters that need formal board approval. The February 3 consent agenda included confirmation and termination of the state of emergency declared before the storm and after the last board meeting; change of the date of a joint capital improvement workshop with the school board; and several amendments to the county budget.

Typically, there is brief explanation of items on the consent agenda, after which a bulk vote is taken. A board member will sometimes request an item be removed from the consent agenda for a detailed discussion and separate vote.

One item, a $250,000 supplemental budget appropriation to the “outside counsel” line in the County Attorney’s budget, was pulled out for discussion and a separate vote. The amendment would provide funding for the defense of the county, board of supervisors, and the planning commission in litigation regarding the Technology Overlay District, which was filed and served in December. It is believed that TOD opponents who filed the lawsuit are raising at least $200k for legal fees to bring their suit.

During citizen comment, two residents contended that inclusion of the outside counsel funding in the consent agenda was intended to hide the appropriation from public scrutiny. The expenditure, they said, was a waste of taxpayer dollars because the county has its own attorney to handle litigation and seemed to imply that county attorney and her staff sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for lawsuits to come in the door.

One speaker also raised suspicions that, because he saw surveyors on land in the TOD, some sort of development is underway there. He needs to keep an eye on the county geographic information system (GIS)  ( “parcel viewer” tab on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/) that lists all permits issued on parcels, including things like land disturbance and plan of development, which must be completed  before any building can take place.

Jonathan Lyle, District 5, asked that the outside counsel appropriation item be removed from the consent agenda for discussion and action by the board.

County Attorney Tara McGee explained that the role of her office is to provide legal advice to the supervisors, county administration, employees, and departments. Many people, she said, do not understand that operations of a locality like Goochland are governed by many state and federal laws.

For instance, she said, everything that purchasing does “has to be pursuant to very detailed state laws.” Human resources must comply with many federal laws, which adds another layer of process.

“The Freedom of Information Act, a creature of state law, which governs not only how we get together here and notice and invite the public but also requires response to a growing number of requests for documents that your government does business through,” McGee said.

The county attorney provides legal advice with respect to land use, the topic of many public hearings, which is also entirely a state law process.

All proffers and conditions imposed in a rezoning case are subject to legal review to ensure that they are legal and enforceable. After rezoning is approved, said McGee, when a case is going through development, agreements for roads, environmental, storm water, bonds and other sureties are all reviewed by her office.

 “By state law, every contract, every MOU entered by this county has to be reviewed and approved as to form by the county attorney’s office. That takes up a lot of time,” she said.

The county attorney also writes ordinances, which are laws, and reviews every board agenda item for legality and proper procedure. McGee said that the agenda for that day’s meeting involved a great deal of work by her office.

Goochland County, explained McGee, is also involved in litigation in different ways. Violations of land use conditions, proffers, building and fire codes are all enforced by her office.

The county attorney’s office is involved in all defensive litigation against the county or its employees. McGee compared this to someone involved in an auto accident who has insurance. “When they’re defending you, since they’re going to pay the claim, they provide your counsel.”

Goochland, she said, has insurance coverage, whose standard terms for localities in Virginia includes coverage for attorneys who defend against land use litigation claims made against the county. McGee said that Goochland is taking advantage of that coverage because, given its routine workload, her office does not have staffing to support the operations needed for defensive litigation, which involves many hours in a tight time frame not established by clients.

Her office has, however, pulled together the substantial legislative record of the TOD with the assistance of all the departments engaged in it, indexed, and found the records. “It’s been a huge undertaking and that’s how we are supporting the litigation.”

 Her office has meetings on the facts, with which they are intimately familiar to develop strategy with outside counsel “not just because litigation is best done in a strategic manner, but to make sure that the vison of Goochland as a client is heard.”

McGee’s office also provides oversight and liaison between county employees who have the facts and outside counsel.

Files of previous county attorneys, said McGee, indicate that use of outside counsel is a long-standing policy, consistent with localities of Goochland’s size.

She said the request is to deal with an unforeseen expense.

Tom Winfree, District 3, said that the role of county attorney is analogous to that of a general practitioner physician, to keep track of routine matters.  Retention of outside counsel in extraordinary situations is like referral to a specialist.

Lyle thanked McGee for her explanation and hoped that the entire sum after insurance would not be used. “We have a board action that’s being challenged, and this is how the system works. As a litigant, we need to mount a robust detailing of our side of the story.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Witness Tree Challenge

 

Venerable tree on Maidens Road (Goochland County Historical Society image.)

Goochland is blessed with a gracious plenty of trees. In summer, we enjoy their shade, during ice storms we fear their ability to snap power lines and close roads. In autumn, we rake leaves. They form a backdrop to our lives.

Some trees are crops with relatively short lives. Others have been around for generations and bear silent witness to history.

As we approach the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, the Goochland Historical Society is partnering with the Goochland 250 Commission, the Goochland Rotary Club, Goochland Schools, and the Goochland Education Foundation in the “Witness tree challenge” to locate and identify trees that have been in the county since, or even before, our nation was founded.

Go to https://www.exploregoochland.com/187/VA-250-American-Revolution or https://goochlandedu.org/2026/01/15/the-witness-tree-challenge/.

Over the nearly three centuries since its founding and before, trees in Goochland were cut down to clear land for crops, used as firewood, milled to provide lumber to build, and as continues today, grown for industrial use.

There are some trees in Goochland, however, that have stood observing events unfolding around them. The goal of the Witness Tree Challenge is to find and celebrate those venerable trees. As trees add a ring of bark during each growing season, their age can be determined by counting those rings. A forester will drill a small hole in the tree to extract a horizontal core to confirm its age.

All school children, including those in public, private, or home school venues, in the county are encouraged to participate in the following manner:

·         Find a candidate tree. Do not trespass. Obtain permission from landowners. To find out who owns a particular parcel of land go to the wonderfully updated Goochland County GIS site at https://gis.co.goochland.va.us/CivQuest/. (This can be a good way to teach children how to read maps.)

·         Measure the circumference of the tree using a tape measure or piece of twine.

·         Identify the type of tree e.g. oak, sycamore. There are many apps to help with this.

·         Record the location of the tree with street address and with the compass app on a smartphone for precise longitude and latitude.

·         Take a photo of the tree.

·         Submit this information to nominate a tree at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfDPPJ-8317zc0f9zO5fuiv2EqvO06-5PamyopQjFuXtHDeWQ/viewform

Submissions must be made by March 1, 2026.

The Witness Tree Committee will evaluate nominations and select the most likely candidates. Metal tags will be placed on trees recording their age and discovered.

Students who successfully identify a Witness Tree at least 250 years old will be honored at a Board of Supervisors’ meeting and at a special recognition event on Arbor Day April 24. On that day they will plant a tree in hopes that it will bear witness to the next two hundred and fifty years of our Republic.

Contact Witnesstree@goochlandhistory.org with questions.