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ALPENA — Alpena County released the names of the three finalists who will be interviewed for the vacant county administrator position.

In a press release, the county says that current commissioner Jesse Osmer, former Alpena County Administrator Jeff Thornton, and former Gladwin County Administrator Mark Justin will each be interviewed in an open meeting on April 19 in the Howard Male Conference Room in the county’s annex building.

Alpena County is in the process of replacing Mary Catherine Hannah who accepted an administrator position in Saginaw County in January.

According to the press release, Justin will be interviewed at noon, Thornton at 1 p.m., and Osmer at 2 p.m.

The meeting is open to the public.

The trio of finalists was chosen from more than 40 applicants, which was reduced in several rounds of screening. The consultant company, Amy Cell Talent, promised to have as many as 10 finalists, but some of the commissioners believe a low wage scale, which was passed earlier this year, may have set more qualified candidates on the sideline or are holding off for higher paying jobs.

In February, a majority of the board of commissioners approved a salary scale set for $85,000 at the low point and $115,000 at the high end, which was significantly lower than the $110,000 to $130,000 Amy Cell Talent recommended to lure the best potential candidates into applying.

Last week, some of the commissioners expressed concern about the lack of candidates to choose from and were open to the idea of restarting the search and even increasing the compensation.

Those options will be paused until the current interview process concludes.