As a civil engineer and city administrator, Gibbs ably represented the municipalities of Michigan in their efforts to put the financing of local street systems on sound footing. He was the municipal member of the committee responsible for Michigan's first comprehensive highway needs study in 1947. It led to legislation giving municipalities a fixed, equitable share of highway taxes. From 1929 to 1958, Gibbs was successively city manager of Ferndale, Oak Park and Port huron. He served two terms as president of the Michigan Municipal League (1946-1948) and one term as president of the Michigan Good Roads Federation (1950).