Gray
The longest-serving elected official in county government is retiring at the end of the year.
An open house to celebrate Bartholomew County Surveyor E. R. Gray’s 40 years of public service will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13. The surveyor’s office is located on the fourth floor of the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St.
Gray, 72, will be succeeded at the end of the year by fellow Republican Jake Fitzsimmons, who ran unopposed in this year’s general election.
When Bartholomew County Council member Evelyn Pence stepped down in July, Gray became the longest-serving elected county official still in office. When he steps down after Dec. 31, that distinction will go to Bartholomew County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz.
“E.R. Gray has been a good friend for many years and an example of professionalism in county government,” Kleinhenz said. “E.R. hs a knack for attracting quality individuals, and it shows in the productivity of the office.”
The mapping out of the Geographic Information System (GIS) for Bartholomew County, handled by Gray’s office, is a well-known and often-used service in the community. But while other functions in Gray’s department like maintaining regulated drains, section corners and cemetery location data are necessary, they don’t receive much public attention.
While this is his fifth decade in elected office, Gray has only been challenged at the polls a few times – and the pay may be the reason. In the most recent figures available, the county surveyor earns $40,098 a year, which is 44% lower that the national average for government employees.
However, Gray operated his own business, E.R. Gray & Associates LLC, from 1989 until he sold it to Milestone Design Group, Inc. of Louisville, in the summer of 2021. The firm was involved in land surveying and site development.
With an annual budget that is seldom scrutinized, Gray has maintained a low profile enabling the surveyor and his staff of seven to do their jobs quietly and efficiently.
But within professional circles, Gray is extremely well-known among his peers. He has served multiple terms on the board of governors of the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors. He is a past president of that organization, as well as the Indiana County Surveyors Association. Gray, who is also a member of the National Society of Professional Surveyors, spent eight years on the Indiana State Board of Registration for Land Surveyors.
A graduate of Spencer High School with an associates of arts degree from Ivy Tech Community College, Gray spent nine years with Columbus Surveying and Engineering. Prior to that, he was an engineering technician for Sieco Inc. and surveying technician for Dunlap Engineering.
In early 1984, Gray (whose name was Enoch Gray on the ballot at the time) filed a primary challenge against fellow Republican and incumbent county surveyor Gene Darnall. But after Darnall died on April 27 – just days before the primary – Gray was chosen by Republican precinct committeemen to fill the late surveyor’s unexpired term.
That fall, Gray won his first election by defeating Democrat Scott Chowder. Surveyors are elected to four-year terms in presidential election years. There is no limit on the number of terms a person can serve as surveyor.
