Monday, March 24, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
A citizens' board evaluating candidates for the top county government job in Collier County, Fla., has chosen Clark County Assistant Manager Jim Ley as a finalist.
Ley is one of seven outside candidates who made the cut for the county manager position, along with two Collier County officials, including the acting manager, Mike McNeese.
The county board will decide April 1 which candidates will be invited for a final round of interviews set for April 22, 23 and 24, said Jerre Salmon, a human resources analyst working on the selection process.
The board could select all seven for interviews, or one, or none, Salmon said.
"They all look strong," Salmon said. The committee submitted an unranked list organized alphabetically, he said, with a resolution saying any one of the seven could be the next county manager.
The board is expected to make its final pick April 29, he said.
According to county policy, Salmon said, any employee who puts in for a promotion and meets the minimum qualifications automatically is entitled to an interview.
The salary would have to be negotiated, Salmon said, but the previous manager, Neil Dorrill, left with an annual salary of $118,000.
Collier County, on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast, is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country with about 200,000 residents. The county's total budget is $390 million with 1,1000 employees. Clark County's total budget is $1.2 billion for about 5,000 employees and a population of 1.2 million.
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