Riverside County
Biographies
RAY THOMAS HICKS
Ray T.
Hicks is most efficiently and faithfully discharging the manifold duties
devolving upon him in the position of county auditory of Riverside County. He was born in Henning,
Minnesota, December 28, 1892, his parents being
Thomas J. and Minnie (Williams) Hicks, natives of New York State, where they were married. In young manhood Thomas J. Hicks, who was a
grain buyer, left the Empire state for Minnesota,
whence he subsequently removed to Colorado and
afterward to Washington. From the latter state he came to California in 1923 and here departed this life at the age
of seventy years, passing away in the faith of the Methodist Church. To him and his wife, who is also deceased,
were born eight children, all of whom survive.
Ray T.
Hicks, the seventh in order of birth in the family, attended school in North Dakota and continued his studies in the high school
at Genoa, Colorado. He accompanied his parents on their removal
to Prescott, Washington, where he became a bank clerk and later served as
assistant cashier of the institution for thee years. Next he was employed as bookkeeper by a large
flour milling concern of Prescott,
Washington. It was in 1914 that he first came to California, locating at Tracy, where he worked as bookkeeper in a
department store. Thereafter he spent
some time in Idaho and in Oregon, being employed as bookkeeper by the
Oregon Fruit Growers Association. When
this country had become involved in the World war he enlisted in the United
States Army and went overseas with the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Machine
Gun Battalion, Forty-first Division, serving on foreign soil for seventeen
months as a machine gun instructor, with the rank of sergeant. He is a member of the American Legion. Honorably discharged at Cheyenne,
Wyoming, he afterward spent a short time in Boise, Idaho, and his
next removal took him to Salt Lake
City, Utah, where he
was made manager of the mechanical goods department of the United States Rubber
Company. Going back to the state of Washington, he was there engaged in the fire and life
insurance business in association with a brother until 1923, when he came to Riverside, California. Here he served as deputy county auditor and
in 1931 was elected auditor of Riverside
county, now making a most creditable and commendable record as the controller
and bookkeeper for the county. The duties
of the county auditor are complicated and involved with every branch of the county. All moneys received or disbursed are on
orders from the auditor to the treasurer.
He must keep an accurate account of the moneys received and disbursed,
of moneys not only from a fund account, but from an appropriation account, or
what is known as the budget. He must
scrutinize claims drawn against the county in which money is involved, not only
for proper itemization, but also signatures, showing that the value has been
receive, and also for legality. All
bonds and the payments of interest are handled through his office, and the paid
bonds and coupons are kept on file. He
must prepare tabulations of the valuation of property and the budget furnishing
the board of supervisors with the tax rates.
He must compute and prove the county tax rolls and charge the tax
collector with the total amount of taxes to be collected and credit him with
any payments thereon. He must maintain
the records of delinquent taxes and prepare certificates of redemption when
property is redeemed from tax sales. He
is also required to apportion the moneys thus collected to the correct funds. The county government laws change every two
years and it is necessary that the auditor make a careful study of these new
laws pertaining to the numerous duties of his office. Mr. Hicks is a member of the County Auditors
Association of California.
In 1925, at
Riverside, Mr.
Hicks was united in marriage to Miss Sallie Jo Nermi, of Helsingfors, Finland,
who was brought to the United States by her parents when five years old. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have tow sons, Thomas
Harry and William Frank.
A worthy
exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, Mr. Hicks is
a member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 259, F. & A. M.; Riverside Chapter, No.
67, R. A. M.; and Riverside Commandery, No. 28, K. T. His religious faith in indicated by his
membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and he also belongs to the Young
Men’s Christian Association. Handball is
his favorite form of recreation.
Transcribed
By: Michele Y. Larsen on May 17, 2012.
Source: California of the South
Vol. II, by
John Steven McGroarty, Pages 409-411, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 Michele Y. Larsen.
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