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Gilbert W. Ray

Gilbert W. Ray became Orange County's accountant and purchasing agent on September 3, 1928, and held the post until August 31, 1947, adding the jobs of tax supervisor and for a time tax collector. He installed a workable bookkeeping system, saved the county money through central purchasing and put its tax and financial records in one office. He was then Chapel Hill's town manager from 1947 to 1949, when he left to become city manager of Fayetteville.

Source: FamilySearch: Hugh Talmage Lefler and Paul Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), pp. 222, 365

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Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens in the chronology.

Town and county budgets and tax rates, 1925–19321925–1932 · What a Chapel Hill taxpayer paid in town and county taxes together fell from $2.69 on $100 of valuation in 1926 to $2.22 in 1932. In January 1926 the Orange County rate was $1.34, up from 90 cents in 1922, and the aldermen held the town rate at $1.38 through 1928; new state school and highway aid helped lower the county rate in 1929. From July 1, 1931 the state took over Orange's roads, which county accountant G. W. Ray said wiped out the county's 25-cent road tax, and that July the aldermen cut town employees' pay 10 percent. In 1932 the aldermen adopted a smaller town budget and the commissioners set the county rate at 80 cents.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 51 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Gilbert W. Ray becomes Orange County's first full-time county accountant Under the 1927 County Fiscal Control Act the county hired Ray as accountant, tax supervisor and purchasing agent, succeeding J. L. Lockhart, who had served part time and as county accountant drew up the 1927-28 and 1928-29 budget estimates. Ray set up the county's first working system of books and central buying, and he stayed in the job until August 31, 1947. People: Ira Ward, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 222 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, July 13, 1928, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 12, 1928, p. 6
  2. Orange County's 1929-30 budget goes to the commissioners with a tax cut of about 15 cents On July 22, 1929, the county commissioners received the 1929-30 budget prepared by county accountant G. W. Ray, including a school fund of about $177,000 and a road fund of about $50,000. New state school and highway aid worth $41,050 to Orange County let the county rate fall about 15 cents, the Weekly reported. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 26, 1929, p. 1
  3. Orange County publishes its 1930-31 budget estimate County accountant G. W. Ray dated July 7, 1930, Orange County's budget estimate for 1930-31: $33,520 for the general county fund, $45,000 for roads (against $49,487 spent the year before), $18,428 for salaries and $49,915 for bonds. The general fund set aside $4,100 for the County Home, $1,450 for the outside poor, $600 for mothers' aid, $1,000 for public welfare and $1,050 for county health. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 11, 1930, p. 5
  4. County names township tax assessors for the 1931 revaluation Gilbert Ray, Orange County auditor and tax supervisor, appointed assessors in every township for the revaluation of all property required in 1931: P. L. Burch, W. H. Ray and George Howe for Chapel Hill, and others for Hillsboro, Bingham, Cheeks, Eno, Cedar Grove and Little River. Assessments three years earlier had been set at about 55 to 60 per cent of value. People: George Howe, Gilbert W. Ray, Peter L. BurchSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 12, 1930, p. 1
  5. The state takes over Orange County's roads and most of its prisoners The Connor road bill, passed on March 20, 1931, moved every public road outside town streets to state upkeep from July 1, 1931 and made the state responsible for longer-term prisoners, ending one of the county's oldest duties. County accountant G. W. Ray said the change wiped out the county's 25-cent road maintenance tax. The Gardner survey had found Orange spent $48,076 on its 412 miles of roads in 1929. People: O. Max Gardner, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 208 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1931, p. 5; Chapel Hill Weekly, May 29, 1931, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, February 26, 1932, p. 3
  6. Orange County posts a smaller budget for 1931-1932 County accountant G. W. Ray filed a tentative budget of $97,287.50 for the year from July 1, 1931: $33,765 for general county purposes, $18,530 for salaries and $44,992.50 for debt service. It was about $4,800 below the year before and $2,700 below actual spending, with the savings in the bond fund. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 31, 1931, p. 5
  7. Orange County sets its new tax rate at 83 cents, down from $1.25 County tax accountant G. W. Ray announced a county rate of 83 cents on the $100 of valuation, 42 cents below the old rate of $1.25, made possible by the state's taking over road maintenance and by the new school law. Real estate valuations were left about as set in 1927, while personal property valuations fell by about $325,000. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 21, 1931, p. 1
  8. Five Grange chapters organize in Orange County County agent Don Matheson reported five new Grange chapters in Orange County: Orange Grove, Schley, White Cross, Gravelly Hill and Fairfield. Schley and Fairfield made their meeting halls out of abandoned schoolhouses, and the chapters met every two weeks with women and children as members. People: Gilbert W. Ray, Don S. MathesonThe Chapel Hill Weekly, December 25, 1931, p. 1
  9. County accountant reports Orange retiring $112,377 in bonds County accountant Gilbert Ray told the Chapel Hill Kiwanis Club that Orange had cut its county tax rate from $1.25 for 1930 to 83 cents for 1931, a larger cut than the state average, would retire $112,377 in bonds in three years by June 30, and owed nothing on tax anticipation notes. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 19, 1932, p. 1
  10. County accountant Gilbert Ray lays out Orange County's finances for the Kiwanis Club Ray reported an assessed valuation of $17,538,089 taxed at 83 cents on $100 (down from $1.25 in 1930), and county schools with 147 teachers, 3,533 white and 1,991 Black pupils. He said the county road fund had ended when the state took over road upkeep on July 1, 1931, and that the county had finished paying off its $99,000 1921 road, bridge and funding bonds the same day. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 26, 1932, p. 3
  11. Orange County commissioners cut county officers' pay 10 percent Meeting in Hillsboro, John H. Hanner, W. P. Berry and Jeter C. Lloyd voted unanimously to reduce all county officers' salaries 10 percent from July 1, to fall in with state and business economies, reasoning that lower prices kept officers' real pay as high as before. People: Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge HannerSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 6, 1932, p. 1
  12. Orange County Young Democrats organize at Hillsborough and elect L. J. Phipps president The Orange County Club of Young Democrats was organized at the court house in Hillsborough on August 13, 1932, with J. Dewey Dorsett, the state chairman, as speaker. L. J. Phipps of Chapel Hill was elected president, Mrs. S. T. Latta Jr. vice-president, Mrs. Dave Parrish secretary and Gilbert Ray treasurer. People: Luther James Phipps, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 19, 1932, p. 1
Show all 51 dated events
  1. Orange County commissioners cut the county tax rate to 80 cents Early in August 1932 the Orange County commissioners set the county tax rate at 80 cents on the $100, three cents lower than the year before. The county budget estimate for 1932-33, made public in July by county accountant Gilbert W. Ray, came to $139,920, $4,160 less than the year's spending. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 19, 1932, p. 1
  2. Orange County commissioners cut all tax valuations by 25 percent Meeting in Hillsborough, the county commissioners voted unanimously to mark down every property assessment by 25 percent rather than pay three or four thousand dollars for a revaluation. The Weekly noted that the cut would not lower anyone's taxes by itself, since rates would rise to meet the same budgets. People: Robert A. Eubanks, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 7, 1933, p. 1
  3. Orange County commissioners cut every real estate assessment by 25 percent After the 1933 legislature adjourned, the Orange County commissioners ordered a flat 25 percent cut in all real estate valuations. With personal property assessments also falling, the county accountant expected the county's total assessed value to drop to about $14 million from $17,164,349 in 1932, and at a special session on June 19 the board heard owners' appeals and granted about $2,000 more in reductions. People: Gilbert W. Ray, Carl T. DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 7, 1933, p. 1
  4. Orange County Young Democrats tell their delegates to oppose a party stand for repeal Meeting at the court house in Hillsborough, the Orange County Club of Young Democrats elected W. E. Thompson, Collier Cobb Jr. and Gilbert W. Ray delegates to the state convention at Wrightsville Beach and instructed them to vote against any resolution pledging the Young Democratic Clubs to the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, leaving members free to vote as they chose in the November referendum. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Gilbert W. Ray, W. E. ThompsonSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 7, 1933, p. 4
  5. Orange County drops its contract jailer and puts a deputy sheriff in charge of the jail The county commissioners ended the system of paying the jailer a monthly sum plus a daily fee for boarding each prisoner, which they thought encouraged poor feeding, and gave a salaried deputy sheriff charge of the jail, with the county accountant buying the food. Jail spending for 1933-34 came to $1,675 of the $3,750 budgeted. People: Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 13, 1934, p. 1
  6. The National Re-Employment Service opens Orange County offices in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill The Orange County branch of the National Re-Employment Service was organized, with U. M. Rackley in charge of the main office in Hillsborough and Evelyn Page keeping a Chapel Hill office at Strowd's garage. Jobless men and women were asked to register so that contractors on the coming federal public works, who had to hire local labor where they could, would have a full list to draw on. People: Gilbert W. Ray, Bonner D. Sawyer, Moody W. DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 18, 1933, p. 1
  7. Orange County commissioners order a study of power lines for farm homes After the success of the Civil Works power line to Calvander, the commissioners asked farm agent Don Matheson, county accountant G. W. Ray and relief administrator George H. Lawrence to study a network of rural power lines with D. S. Weaver of State College. The officials ruled out a Public Works loan, judging that so few customers could not carry the debt, and hoped for direct federal aid. People: George H. Lawrence, Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Henry S. Hogan, Carl T. Durham, Don S. MathesonThe Chapel Hill Weekly, July 6, 1934, p. 1
  8. Orange County commissioners cut the tax rate to 78 cents and restore officials' salaries The commissioners lowered the county tax rate from 87 to 78 cents and restored the 10 per cent cut made in county officers' salaries two years before. The Weekly credited savings on the jail and court and a rise of about $200,000 in assessments. People: Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 10, 1934, p. 1
  9. Orange County audit shows its net debt cut by $244,870 since 1928 An audit of the county's books, nearing completion in August 1934, showed Orange County's net debt down from $777,063 on June 30, 1928, to $532,193 on June 30, 1934, with a $50,000 floating debt paid off. The county tax rate had fallen from $1.45 in 1928 to 78 cents in 1934, helped by the state's taking over the roads in 1931 and the operating costs of the schools. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 24, 1934, p. 1
  10. Orange County reports 46 per cent of its 1934 tax levy collected by February 1 County Accountant G. W. Ray reported to the commissioners that $54,000 of the $117,000 county tax levy for 1934 had been collected by February 1, and that $17,000 of the $38,000 general fund had been spent in seven months, including $4,600 of $7,800 budgeted for the county home, outside poor and county health. The Weekly read the figures as a sign of improving conditions. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 15, 1935, p. 1
  11. Federal relief approves $165,000 for rural electric lines in Orange County The Emergency Relief Administration approved an allotment of $165,000 to build rural electric lines in Orange County, to be spent once Congress voted new work-relief money. The plan rested on a county canvass of farmers sent to Raleigh on November 1, 1934; the lines were to be repaid from the sale of current over as long as 35 years, with the county buying power from the Southern (Duke) Power Company and reselling it to farmers. People: George H. Lawrence, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Gilbert W. Ray, Don S. MathesonThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 15, 1935, p. 1
  12. Orange County applies for federal aid to build new schools in Chapel Hill, Hillsboro and Carrboro The county commissioners filed a $471,000 application with the Public Works Administration for school buildings designed by H. D. Carter: a $180,500 enlargement of Chapel Hill's white school and a $54,000 school for Chapel Hill's Black children, white and Black schools in Hillsboro costing $213,000 together, and a two-room addition to the Carrboro school. The government would grant 45 per cent of the cost and lend the rest at 4 per cent. People: H. D. Carter, Herman G. Baity, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 5, 1935, p. 1
  13. The sheriff stops serving as the county's tax collector The sheriff had collected Orange County's taxes since colonial days, and that ended in 1936, with collection moving to the county accountant's office. Carl C. Davis became tax collector in 1938. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 219
  14. Orange County's budget adds a welfare fund for the new Social Security programs The county's 1937-38 budget for operations and debt, schools excluded, rose to about $109,000 from $90,000, almost all of the increase for a new welfare fund that the state's Social Security law required. Federal and state money of $35,500 and the county's $27,000 made $62,500 for old-age assistance, aid to dependent children, aid to the blind, child welfare and administration, while the county alone still paid for the county home, poor relief, pauper burials and hospital care. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 16, 1937, p. 1
  15. Orange County makes its first Social Security assistance payments The county delivered its first checks under the new federal, state and county Social Security program to 29 people approved for July: 20 for old-age assistance, 7 for aid to dependent children and 2 for the blind. The Weekly reported that the recipients were about evenly divided between white and Black residents. People: William T. Mattox, Bruce Strowd, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 6, 1937, p. 1
  16. Orange County commissioners raise the county tax rate to $1 The commissioners' 1938-39 budget of $177,240 raised the county rate from 95 cents to $1 on the $100. The welfare fund rose from $22,778 spent the year before to $29,070 to meet Social Security requirements (old-age assistance and aid to dependent children and the blind), $2,000 went to the district's anti-syphilis campaign, and revenue from intangibles, now taxed by the state, fell from $5,982 to $1,871. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 15, 1938, p. 1
  17. Orange County commissioners choose a board of assessors instead of a full property revaluation In the year due for revaluation, the county commissioners decided not to reappraise all property but to name a board of assessors to examine valuations after the January listing and correct inequalities. County accountant Gilbert W. Ray announced list takers for every township and warned that some who failed to list the year before had been called before the grand jury. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 13, 1940, p. 1
  18. Orange County's 1941-42 budget keeps the tax rate at $1 The county's 1941-42 budget of $193,251, about $3,000 above the year before, set aside $74,331 for schools and $33,903 for welfare, but higher property valuations let the commissioners keep the tax rate at $1. It added $900 for fire protection and small raises for two deputy sheriffs, the clerk of court and the register of deeds, while debt service fell by $4,723. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 18, 1941, p. 1
  19. Orange County collects a record share of its taxes by January 31 County accountant G. W. Ray reported that Orange County had collected $125,292, or 74.7 percent, of its 1942 levy of $167,740 by January 31, against 67.5 percent a year earlier and about 65 percent in the three years before, and that the county's net debt fell by $37,740 in 1942, from $489,993 to $452,253. Chapel Hill's town manager also reported record collections. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 5, 1943, p. 1
  20. Orange County oversubscribes its Fifth War Loan quota In the Fifth War Loan drive of June 12 to July 8, 1944, Orange County bought $805,325.50 in bonds by July 11 and $837,862 by July 25 against a quota of $634,000, helped by credit for federal tax certificates bought by the state and by corporate purchases, including $50,000 by National Munitions. Sales of small series E bonds lagged at $216,545 of a $398,000 goal; J. Maryon Saunders chaired the county drive. People: J. Maryon (Joseph Maryon) Saunders, Gilbert W. Ray, S. A. JohnsonSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 20, 1944, p. 1
  21. Hillsborough's commissioners set a $1.25 tax rate and pass a clean-up ordinance Meeting on Tuesday night, August 15, 1944, the Hillsborough town commissioners under Mayor Ben G. Johnston fixed the 1944 town tax rate at $1.25 per $100 and passed an ordinance making it unlawful, on pain of a $5 fine, to leave rotting food, trash or other refuse that endangered health or made a fire hazard within 25 feet of any street. They also gave car owners until September 1 to buy town license stickers. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 24, 1944, p. 1
  22. The United War Fund drive ends well over quota in Hillsboro and rural Orange When the United War Fund drive closed on October 31, Hillsboro and rural Orange had turned in about $3,100 against a quota of $1,961, led by the cotton mills and the town canvass, with the county schools reaching rural families. Chairman Gilbert W. Ray singled out Aycock school's $156.43. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 9, 1944, p. 1
  23. The new Latta Co-operative Dairy begins marketing milk for fourteen Orange farmers Formed in November by dairyman H. F. Latta and others with $100,000 in authorized stock, the Latta Co-operative Dairy began collecting milk from 14 farmers near Hillsboro on December 1, processing it in Durham until its own plant could be built. Priorities had been secured for a 41-by-60-foot brick and tile plant across from the courthouse, with R. B. Todd as manager. People: Don S. Matheson, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 7, 1944, p. 1
  24. County boards back a first wing for a new Chapel Hill High School Meeting with the board of education and Dr. R. E. Coker of the Chapel Hill school board, the county commissioners favored starting a high school building in Chapel Hill to replace the one lost to fire, beginning with a single wing of about twelve classrooms. The same day the commissioners reappointed G. W. Ray county accountant and the board of education kept R. H. Claytor as superintendent for two more years. People: R. E. Coker, R. H. Claytor, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1945, p. 1
  25. Orange County opens the Seventh War Loan drive with a $574,000 quota The Seventh War Loan drive opened in Hillsboro and rural Orange on Monday, May 14, without a rally, carrying a county quota of $574,000, of which $458,000 was to come from E bonds. Hillsboro workers planned a house-to-house canvass, farm leaders mailed bond literature to every farmer, and Chapel Hill launched its part the same morning with a rally at the Carolina Theatre. People: Don S. Matheson, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 17, 1945, p. 1
  26. Orange County closes the Seventh War Loan at $1,308,000, more than twice its quota When the Seventh War Loan closed on July 7, county chairman J. Maryon Saunders reported Orange County bond sales of $1,308,000 against a quota of $574,000, with E bond sales of $469,321 topping their goal after last-week canvasses in Hillsboro and by civic clubs in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Employees of the National Munitions Corporation at Carrboro bought $93,887.90 in E bonds on a quota of $29,475. People: J. Maryon (Joseph Maryon) Saunders, Gilbert W. Ray, W. E. Thompson, S. A. JohnsonSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 12, 1945, p. 1
  27. E. M. Lynch succeeds A. H. Graham as Orange County Democratic chairman The county Democratic convention at the courthouse elected Clerk of Court E. M. Lynch chairman of the executive committee, ending A. H. Graham's 26 years in the post, with Mrs. C. W. Stanford vice-chairman and G. W. Ray secretary. Speakers thanked Graham, and the convention endorsed Carl Durham's reelection to Congress. People: Edwin M. Lynch, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 2, 1946, p. 1
  28. Orange County's 1946 tax valuation reaches $18.8 million County accountant Gilbert Ray reported the 1946 tax valuation at $18,828,912, up $1,021,597 from 1945, with a levy of $175,701.32. Real property made up $12,803,240 of the total, and a countywide revaluation was expected soon. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 19, 1946, p. 1
  29. The county begins its first full reassessment of real property On the county commissioners' order, the tax office mailed every property owner a card asking for a full description of each parcel, the first time the county had sought such detail, so that a board of assessors could revalue all real property during 1947. By April the assessors had finished Cedar Grove, Little River, Hillsboro and Cheeks townships, and the tax supervisor expected the new values to add about $1,000,000 to the tax books. People: Roland P. McClamroch, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 2, 1947, p. 1
  30. Chapel Hill names county accountant Gilbert Ray city manager Choosing from more than a dozen applicants to succeed T. E. Hinson, the Chapel Hill board elected Gilbert Ray, Orange County's auditor and tax supervisor since 1928, as city manager at $4,800 a year, to start September 1. The county commissioners accepted his resignation on August 4 with regrets, crediting his nineteen years with a falling tax rate and sounder county finances. People: Robert W. Madry, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 7, 1947, p. 1
  31. County commissioners choose Ira A. Ward as auditor and tax supervisor At a special meeting the commissioners picked Ira A. Ward, a 26-year-old Orange native, army air forces veteran and UNC graduate, from three applicants to succeed Gilbert W. Ray, who had held the post 19 years. Ward was paid $3,600 a year and took office on September 17. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 21, 1947, p. 1
  32. Chapel Hill aldermen call a $275,000 bond election for sewage works and streets The board of aldermen voted to call an election on $275,000 in bonds for a new sewage treatment plant, an incinerator and street repairs, with the university sharing the sewage cost out of a $225,000 legislative appropriation. Town manager Gilbert Ray reported that the 1931 plant, built for 7,500 people, was serving 15,000 and running at twice its capacity. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 20, 1947, p. 1
  33. Chapel Hill orders traffic lights for the post office corner On the recommendation of aldermen R. J. M. Hobbs and Obie Davis, the Chapel Hill board told town manager Gilbert Ray to put up two lights at Franklin and Henderson streets, one for pedestrians at the safety walk and one for cars, to end U-turns at the post office corner, and moved Henderson Street parking to the west side. The same meeting swore in Robert Fowler to fill the seat of the late alderman E. B. Patterson. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Gilbert W. Ray, Robert Lee FowlerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 29, 1948, p. 1
  34. Orange County organizes a unit of the American Cancer Society Twenty-five people meeting at the health department in Chapel Hill organized the Orange County unit of the American Cancer Society, electing Dr. E. G. Patterson of Chapel Hill president, Beth Forrest of Hillsboro vice president, Mrs. C. H. Pender of Cedar Grove secretary and Gilbert W. Ray treasurer. Its committee included Black members M. C. Burt, Hubert Robinson and A. L. Stanback. People: Hubert Robinson, A. L. Stanback, Gilbert W. Ray, Moses Cimuel BurtSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 12, 1948, p. 1
  35. Chapel Hill voters approve $260,000 in bonds for sewers, streets and equipment In a record town turnout of 939 votes, Chapel Hill approved all four parts of a $260,000 bond issue: $200,000 toward a $425,000 enlargement of the sewer system with a new treatment plant, the rest of its cost to come from the university, plus $35,000 for paving and seal coating streets and smaller sums for street and garbage equipment and town office equipment. The sewer bonds carried 878 to 48. People: Robert W. Madry, Luther James Phipps, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 8, 1948, p. 1
  36. Chapel Hill and the University break ground for a $400,000 sewage disposal plant on the Mason Farm In the week before August 12, 1948, Mayor R. W. Madry turned the first spade of earth for a sewage disposal plant on the Mason Farm near Chapel Hill, a $400,000 joint project of the town and the University. The Charlotte firm of Boyd and Goforth, which held the contract, began work that week. People: Robert W. Madry, Frank Porter Graham, Edwin Sidney Lanier, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 12, 1948, p. 1
  37. Chapel Hill adopts a new building code At a special meeting the Chapel Hill town board adopted a new building code modeled mostly on Durham's, recommended by a committee including the building inspector and Town Manager Gilbert Ray. One change let the inspector issue permits for small new houses in residence zones without architect's plans, where the old code had required plans regardless of cost. People: Gilbert W. Ray, Peter L. BurchSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 3, 1949, p. 1
  38. The county decides to collect the Chapel Hill special school district tax After a delegation led by Town Manager Gilbert Ray reported resentment among district taxpayers outside town who had to pay the school tax at City Hall, the commissioners agreed that the county would take over collecting the Chapel Hill special school district tax the next year. Almost a third of the payers lived outside the town limits, and a legislative act was needed for the change. People: Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 10, 1949, p. 1
  39. Thomas D. Rose succeeds Gilbert W. Ray as Chapel Hill's town manager Thomas Duncan Rose, a 1910 University engineering graduate and the town's consulting engineer, took office as Chapel Hill's town manager after the aldermen elected him unanimously. He succeeded Gilbert W. Ray, manager since September 1947, who left on July 1 to become city manager of Fayetteville. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Gilbert W. RaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 21, 1949, p. 1

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