On April 28, a one-question survey was mailed by Henrico County to me and other residents of 11 ZIP codes in the county. We Henrico residents are being asked to decide whether or not we want our mailing addresses to be changed from Richmond, VA, to Henrico, VA. If 51 percent or more of the surveys returned indicate that a change is desired, mailing addresses for residents of all 11 ZIP codes in question will change from Richmond to Henrico. The county recommends such a change, suggesting that it will save some $5 million in tax revenue for itself that otherwise would be misdirected to the City of Richmond.

As a longtime Henrico resident, I am thankful for the high level of goods and services provided to me, my family, and my neighbors by the county. Moreover, I am proud of my county's recent progress and sterling financial record. Without question, Henrico does an excellent job protecting and promoting the interests of its residents. For this, I am grateful.

However, I must respectfully disagree with the county's effort to change my mailing address, and those of other county residents, from Richmond to Henrico. My thoughtful dissent is based upon three main factors that I hope will resonate with other county residents.

FIRST, IT IS apparent that the world beyond our region already knows our favored spot along the James River -- Henrico County included -- as Richmond, Virginia. This is a very strong brand indeed. It should not be lost upon us that the Richmond region is thought of as one of the principle platforms from which the great experiments of individual liberty and democracy were launched. After all, it was our town in which Patrick Henry inspired an audacious band of patriots with the pronouncement, "Give me liberty or give me death." And since this period of revolution, Richmond has served as the capital city for arguably the most important state -- Virginia -- in the chronicle of our great country. I am proud of Richmond's place in history, and want to be associated with this place.

Second, the $5 million tax savings for Henrico is an estimated number, the premise of which seems a bit nebulous. Additionally, in the grand scheme of things, $5 million in recouped taxes for the county is not an incredible lot of money. Indeed, $5 million is less than one half of 1 percent of Henrico's proposed 2008-09 budget of more than $1 billion. Spread across the county's more than 280,000 residents, $5 million represents approximately $18 per resident. A wholesale change of county mailing addresses is too high a price to pay for such relatively small and uncertain gains realized by the county and its residents.

Third, as we look forward to an increasingly competitive global economy, our region cannot afford to become fragmented in its economic development efforts. The Richmond region comprises numerous, independent localities. None of these has the critical mass necessary to compete in isolation against more populated, lower-cost regions with fewer structural barriers. To be competitive and to provide plentiful opportunities for residents, our regional localities will be required to execute an exceptional level of cooperation and collaboration. United we will compete and win; divided we will crumble toward the likes of familiar, once-great cities that are now rundown, impoverished, and unsafe. A change in mailing addresses from Richmond to Henrico is a move in the wrong direction. It would set an ill-fated precedent against the competitive imperative of regional collaboration.

ON THE OTHER hand, if we are able to successfully collaborate as a region and capitalize broadly on our brand and our numerous rich assets, we will progress and grow across the entire region, including in Henrico County. In this winning scenario, $5 million in uncertain, misdirected tax dollars will be forgotten in a bounty of new revenue that is generated in Henrico and other localities as the result of the full rise of our storied and able region.

To be counted, the survey in question must be completed by Henrico residents and returned by May 10. I hope you will join me and vote "no," and will respectfully oppose the requested change in mailing addresses from Richmond to Henrico. I see this as a vote in favor of a move toward regional collaboration that will yield a better, more prosperous future for residents of our entire region, including Henrico.
Tayloe Negus is a principal in the Richmond office of global consulting firm Mercer. He can be reached at tayloe.negus@mercer.com.