Mayor stresses integrity, transparency in address
In only his fifth month as mayor, Boerne’s Frank Ritchie stressed community and civic engagement during the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce’s “State of the City address.
Ritchie and City Manager Ben Thatcher reminded the crowd of the city’s mission statement, values and goals in making decisions that affect their future.
“Boerne is a great place to live,” Ritchie said to the crowd gathered for the Oct. 19 event “Boerne is a great community, it’s got amazing school districts, it’s got an amazing municipality to take care of our streets, our parks, and our recreation.”
Ritchie said while Boerne’s population is 22,000, more than 60,000 people have the “78006” zip code on their address.
“What our city does is going to directly relate to those (portion of the 60,000) who live outside of the city limits,” he said. “It’s important that we make sure what we do as a city, that we’re paying attention to what’s going on outside our community, also.'
Thatcher spoke to the population as well, saying the city needs to be able to respond efficiently and effectively to handle that growth.
When he arrived in June 2020, Thatcher said the city’s population hovered around 17,500. “We’re now at 22,000, just three years later,” Thatcher said. “That’s a 5,000 (population) gain. That’s a lot of people deciding to come to us from other parts of Texas, other parts of the country.”
“As our city changes,” Mayor Ritchie added, “as the state of Texas changes, we want to make sure that we’re being very intentional in how we handle that growth, how we handle that future, and what it looks like for our community.” After reviewing the city’s mission statement, Ritchie spoke to one of the more pressing issues statewide – water.
“Moving forward, we’re strategic in nature, everything nis not just ‘the immediate future,’ it’s longterm,” he said. “If you look at the water situation, every place is worried about water conservation. I think we’ve done a great job getting to where we are.
“And I want to make sure that we're listening to every voice,” he said. “If you email me, I guarantee you, you’ll get a response back, because I want to make sure we’re engaged in our community and that we’re making sure we’re being responsible.”
Ritchie highlighted integrity and transparency as being keys to the city’s growth and direct connection with its citizens.
“I can’t say enough about our council. It does a great job of taking everyone into consideration when it comes to ordinances and changes and plans,” he said. “They are very intentional and very thoughtful in their decision- making because you are who we serve.”
Both men reviewed a presentation of the bond projects currently under way and made mention of a dozen additional improvements the city sees as needed to maintain and support its traffic and infrastructure needs.
“As we prepare for the future of Boerne, I just want you to know that we have been diligently looking through the budget, knowing that at the forefront of our thought process was how do we benefit this community and be good stewards of our tax dollars for the community of Boerne,” Ritchie said.
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