Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 8, 1993 TAG: 9302080026
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
HIS QUIET WORK IMPROVES HIS CITY
You keep hearing the same things when you ask about Jim Ritchie.Compassionate. Concerned. Committed. Quiet. A listener. A worker.
Ritchie, who was appointed Roanoke's assistant city manager last week, has kept a low profile during his 18 years as director of human development for the city. But he is well known among community and social service agencies.
For nearly two decades, Ritchie has worked to help improve conditions for the homeless, poor, drug addicts, juvenile delinquents and the unemployed. He has supervised 11 municipal departments, mostly those that provide services for the economically disadvantaged and people with other troubles.
Ritchie, 49, has a reputation for having compassion and sympathy for the disadvantaged, said Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles.
"He has such a big heart," she said. "Who are we going to find to replace him?"
Mayor David Bowers said he has never heard a complaint about Ritchie.
As assistant city manager, Ritchie knows he must take a broader perspective and view the city as a whole, not just from one viewpoint.
But as he moves into the second-highest administrative post in the city, he said he won't forget the poor and homeless. "It is in that area [of the homeless] we have done some things that I am most proud of," he said.
Since a homeless study was finished five years ago, the number of beds in homeless shelters have been more than doubled. Total Action Against Poverty has also opened a transitional living shelter.
Ritchie said the city also has prevented hundreds of people from becoming homeless by creating an emergency-relief fund to help pay the rent and utilities for those in danger of eviction.
"I think the city has made a lot of progress on these problems. But they are tough problems that are not just isolated issues for the city, . . . they are national issues that require national attention," Ritchie said.
As human development director, Ritchie has led projects such as the homeless task force, drug strategy task force, building a new crisis intervention center for teen-agers and establishing such organizations as the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium.
City Manager Bob Herbert cited Ritchie's background and experience in working with community and social service agencies.
"You only have to talk with those that have worked with Jim - from city staff to agency leaders - and they will tell you that he is a compassionate leader, a creative open-minded individual and the kind of person who believes strongly in listening to and working others," Herbert said.
One of Ritchie's first duties in his new $75,000-a-year post will be overseeing preparation of the city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The assistant city manager is the city's budget officer.
Ritchie knows the budget will be tight, with little money for new programs. "It is going to be tough and a challenge, like it has been for the past two years," he said.
Ritchie said he does not expect Herbert to make any recommendation for major tax increases.
"I know of no plans for a tax increase. All the information I have is that we want to deliver services within the money that is available," Ritchie said.
Herbert said recently that the city faces a revenue shortfall of $1.5 million in the next budget year.
Herbert wants Ritchie to use his communication skills to work closely with the city staff and residents. Ritchie said he will try to share information on issues as they arise to help reduce the chances for misunderstanding.
Sometimes, the release of information can create confusion, he said, such as that in a recent financial briefing when city officials included 1 percent raises for city employees in a hypothetical budget.
"Some people interpreted that to mean that city employees would get a 1 percent raise, but that was not the case," he said.
"But people will generally use information wisely if it is shared with them."
As assistant city manager, Ritchie will continue to oversee the city's Personnel Department and the city's personnel policies. Ritchie hopes to help ease the workload on Herbert, who has been without an assistant city manager since Earl Reynolds left to become Martinsville city manager a year ago.
Ritchie said Herbert wants him to be involved in all aspects of the city government so he can fill in when Herbert is absent.
"He feels it is important for the assistant city manager to know what he is doing," Ritchie said.
He expects to have a busy schedule in his new post, but he's already accustomed to that. Ritchie gets to his office by 7 a.m. and works for an hour before city employees arrive. "I can get a lot accomplished in that hour," he said.
When he's away from the office, Ritchie's passion is bicycling. He has ridden more than 6,000 miles in the past year.
Ritchie took up the sport nine years ago after he rode his daughter's bicycle to work one day when the city sponsored an alternative-transportation program.
When Ritchie took up biking, he was overweight and smoked. He no longer smokes and his weight is normal.
On some weekends, he rides up to 150 miles, mostly with members of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club. He is a past president of the club.