The Henrico Way

RVA 5x5 - September 14, 2024

No algorithms. No content filters. No A.I. — Honest and insightful analysis from Richmond, VA.

An article appeared this week in the Henrico Citizen by Tom Lappas that necessitated a double take because one of the new members of Henrico’s Board of Supervisors apparently has a problem with the county’s longtime slogan “The Henrico Way.”

The slogan has come to be known as one that recognizes county employees and their dedication to (and expectation of) excellent customer service, leadership and accountability. There is a web page with numerous and updated videos “of employees on the job and stories of staff in action in the community, prompted by messages of thanks from Henrico residents and others.” (Oh, the horror!)

The “Henrico Way” saying is also embedded within the county’s government structure and can be found on other places on the county web site beyond the video page.

“The Henrico Way has been a long-standing tradition – purposeful customer-focused services,” reads the introductory sentence on the site’s Transparency page, which displays “the tangible outcomes of our focus in a simple and informative manner.” The page shows a variety of information, from the county code, zoning map and comprehensive plan to bid postings for government projects, Henrico’s public data portal and information about the board of supervisors and other agencies.

But Three Chopt District Supervisor Misty Whitehead said at the Supervisors’ retreat last week that the saying did not sit well with her.

“I don’t like the feeling that I feel is evoked by ‘The Henrico Way,’ said Whitehead, a Democrat who is a native of the Philippines and serving her first year on the board. “It feels very dog-whistley to me and has for some time. When I got elected and some of us got elected, I kind of just loosely joked that this is a new Henrico Way, and I don’t say that in a way that is disparaging at all to the great things that Henrico has done. But I do think we have to acknowledge that Henrico has not always felt super inclusive to everyone within its borders.”

“Generally whenever something is ‘The Blank Way,’ it hearkens to mind a period of time when things weren’t focused on equity and inclusivity. “

Board Chair and Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, chimed in at the retreat and said that he too had mixed feelings about the saying over the years since he was elected in 2011.

“I think most of us have a sense of what ‘Henrico Way’ means, but I too have struggled over the course of a decade actually saying it. And that’s because people actually said to me, ‘You know when you all say Henrico Way, you know what that means, right?’”

“But there are some who look at that statement as a sense of arrogance and they look at it . . . as a time where we might not have felt like we were part of a greater region or equitable, etc.”

None of the other three Supervisors spoke on the matter during the retreat and the topic does not appear on any forthcoming agendas as of yet.

Whitehead told her colleagues that she was raising the issue as “food for thought” and acknowledged that that topic might not be a concern to others.

“It could be just me, but maybe it’s not just me,” she said.

Where some people might hear dog whistles, many others see and hear excellence and pride in service. According to the internet, the frequency of most dog whistles is above the range of human hearing, but some are adjustable down into the audible range. So let’s take a little field trip and see what noises emanate from what is called “The Henrico Way.”

Henrico is the state’s fifth largest county in population with about 334,000 residents but is 81st in terms of size (245 square miles). But in terms of the number of jobs it ranks second only to Fairfax County which has a little more than 1.1 residents across 406 square miles. Henrico residents have the lowest average monthly tax burden from of the state’s 10 largest localities (about $272, as compared with $310 for Chesterfield, $379 for Richmond, and nearly $626 for Fairfax County). The real estate tax rate (now at $.85 center per $100 of assessed value) has not been raised since 1978, when Jimmy Carter was President, Ben & Jerry's opened their first ice cream shop, inflation was almost 8%, smallpox was eradicated, the top movies were Grease and Animal House, the Yankees won the World Series and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl.

The tax rate isn’t set at one level for some people and another level for others; it’s the same for everyone. But good government is more than just keeping the tax burden low on residents and providing good customer service. It’s also about caring for those in need and addressing the ever-changing challenges of residents. It’s about planning ahead to be ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Despite what whistles Whitehead hears, Henrico has not been neglecting those needs in favor of chasing big, shiny projects (like some other localities that I won’t mention); they see a problem and they try to address it expeditiously and with fairness.