Raley launches monthly community roundtables for Goochland residents, starting April 24

A 25-person cap will limit who gets a seat when County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley opens monthly community roundtables on April 24, giving Goochland residents a direct way to raise concerns about roads, schools, land use, utilities and public safety.

The sessions are meant to be a small-group forum rather than a large public hearing, and county officials are requiring registration through the county website. That format may make the roundtables useful for residents who want more than a few minutes at a Board of Supervisors meeting, but it also means some people who want in may not make the cut if the first session fills quickly.

Raley has spent much of his first months in office building that kind of outreach. He started as county administrator on June 9, 2025, after the Board of Supervisors selected him the month before, and his entry plan called for meetings with citizens, the School Board, business and industry leaders, public safety leadership, elected constitutional officers, neighboring county administrators, community and civic organizations, faith-based groups and media. By January, the county said he had already taken part in more than 190 conversations, meetings and visits tied to that effort.

The roundtables arrive as Goochland is already in the middle of a crowded public calendar. County budget meetings ran through May, including a March 24 joint School Board and Board of Supervisors town hall, an April 7 budget public hearing, an April 14 tax-rate meeting and a May 5 budget adoption meeting. That sequence gives the new roundtables a practical test: whether concerns raised in a smaller setting can carry into decisions that residents can see in the final budget, tax rate and spending priorities.

The issues most likely to surface are the ones that touch daily life in a fast-growing county. Goochland’s population was 24,727 in the 2020 census and was estimated at 28,223 in July 2024. The county’s median household income was estimated at $118,931, and about 28 percent of residents were 65 or older, a combination that makes access to services, aging-in-place concerns and growth pressures especially relevant. Planning staff already tell citizens, design professionals, developers and property owners to get involved early on zoning and development matters, and the county’s planning office oversees zoning, subdivision ordinances, comprehensive land use planning, transportation planning and coordination with VDOT.

Raley’s broader transition has already reshaped county leadership, including an August 2025 senior reorganization tied to his entry plan after more than 30 candidates were considered for deputy county administrator roles. The new roundtables now give residents another opening to press county leaders on whether that rebuilding effort will translate into visible changes in how Goochland handles growth, services and daily frustrations.