Incoming Board of Aldermen to Appoint City Officials, School Board Members, May 25, 1923

Appointments Are in Order. . . First Job of New Board Is to Appoint Officials for the Next Two Years

The incoming Board of Aldermen will on their first meeting June 4, appoint he members of the Police Force, the School Board, the City Manager, the City Auditor, Attorney, Health Officer and various other City Officials to serve or to be served by Elizabeth City for the next two years.

The question of appointing a school board is one of the most important to be considered, yet one which may not take up much time after all. It is hinted around that there will be more than one woman on the school board this time, but no one can tell what the Board of Aldermen will do, or won’t do for that matter. At the present time Elizabeth City has a school board of 16 members, which is considered by the more progressive people as being entirely too unwieldy and out of joint. Under the new city charter, there is an opportunity to cut down the number to eight.

The present school board has four members from each ward in the city. They are as follows:

First Ward, N.

Second Ward, N. Burfoot Sr., W.C. S. Leary, Dr. C.B. Williams, Dr. W.W. Sawyer and J.C. Sawyer; Sawyer, M.P. Gallop, and W.H. Jennings

Third Ward, W.L. Small, F.G. Jacocks, Dr. S.W. Gregory, and C.E. Thompson

Fourth Ward, E.F. Aydlett, J.K. Wilson, Mrs. C.P. Brown and B.S. Sawyer. Mrs. C.P. Brown was appointed at the last regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen to fill the unexpired term of C.E. Kramer resigned.

Altho the City Manager plan is often called a farce as conducted in Elizabeth City where the City Manager is invested with no authority other than is left to a street inspector and what is handed out at the regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen, the Board will continue to elect a City Manager. The present salary of the City Manager is $175 a month, but the Board can allow up to $3,500 a year.

The City Manager is shown a little deference, for upon his recommendation will be appointed a City Auditor, Tax Collector, Chief of Police and Sanitary Inspector. The City Manager himself will serve as Street Commissioner, and the Chief of Police as Building Inspector and Harbor Master.

The Board of Aldermen reserve for themselves the privilege of appointing a City Attorney and City Health Officer. The City Officials

The city officials who are, and will be in office until June 4 are: J.B. Ferebee, City Manager; J.B. Leigh, City Attorney; Dr. Zenas Fearing, Health Officer; J.H. Snowden, Auditor; G.H. Wood, Tax Collector W.J. Simmons, Sanitary Inspector; L.R. Holmes, Chief of Police; G.W. Twiddy, C.E. Anderson, O.F. Seymour, Charles Gregory, F.T. Winslow and B.F. Roughton, policemen.

From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., May 25, 1923. Obviously something wrong in listing of school board members in first and second ward.