The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors has not set a deadline for finding a replacement for retiring County Administrator Elmer Hodge, but board members hope to have a replacement before the end of the year.

John Chambliss, a 35-year county veteran and longtime assistant to Hodge, will serve as interim administrator until a successor is named.

He has said he will not be a candidate for the job.

The county has hired a Minnesota-based company -- Springsted -- to help conduct the search for candidates. The county will pay the firm $17,000 to $20,000.

The company, which has offices in Richmond and bills itself as "advisers to the public sector," talked with Roanoke County supervisors about the qualifications they want in a candidate, and recently interviewed all the county's department heads, as well as its constitutional officers.

Vinton District Supervisor Mike Altizer said that the company should complete a profile of the preferred candidate within a couple of weeks, and then will advertise for the position.

Any potential internal candidates also will apply through Springsted, he said.

The company is expected to bring the resumes of its top 10 candidates to the supervisors by early September, and the board will select four or five of them to interview, Altizer said.

An offer could be made by fall and a new administrator in place by November or December, he said.