Goochland supervisors approve $250,000 appropriation to back outside counsel in Technology Overlay District lawsuit
Loading...
Summary
After residents urged more public discussion, the Board of Supervisors approved a $250,000 transfer from unassigned funds to cover unforeseen litigation costs tied to the Technology Overlay District case; county attorney said insurance will be used first and outside counsel is standard practice for complex land‑use defense.
The Goochland County Board of Supervisors voted to appropriate $250,000 from the county’s unassigned fund balance to help cover potential outside‑counsel costs in litigation challenging the county’s Technology Overlay District.
Resident speakers urged the board to pull the item from the consent agenda for fuller public discussion before the vote. “Committing $250,000 of taxpayer money to defend something so universally unpopular and doing it as a consent item with no discussion or taxpayer input is abhorrent,” resident Steve Levitt told the board, urging the item be moved to an open forum.
County Attorney Miss McGee explained the request and the office’s role in court matters, telling supervisors that Goochland’s in‑house team provides extensive legal support but that “the use of outside counsel for litigation in the defense of the county is a long standing policy.” She said the county’s insurance typically provides counsel for covered claims and that the appropriation is a contingency for unforeseen expenses if insurance limits are exceeded or special expertise is required.
Multiple board members said they regretted the need but supported providing the contingency. “We’ve been forced into this as a result of the litigation that was brought upon us,” one supervisor said during the debate, while others emphasized that insurance funds would be used first and that the appropriation would not necessarily be spent.
The board approved the item by voice vote after discussion and then proceeded to a closed session for a separate personnel matter. The appropriation was presented as an emergency/unforeseen expense to ensure the county can assemble a full legal defense if required.
