Twenty candidates have applied for Montgomery County’s top administrator job, including the current interim director. .

The Montgomery County Commission, in a closed executive session Wednesday, studied candidate resumes provided by Don Vermillion of the University of Dayton’s Business Research Group, hired to assist in the county administrator search.

Commission President Judy Dodge said the board is still sifting through the applicants and no decisions have been made about who will be invited to interview.

“It’s an interesting group of candidates with a wide range of experience,” Dodge said. “We’ll continue studying the resumes next week. We’re moving along.”

The county administrator is responsible for a nearly $800 million budget and oversees the Department of Job and Family Services, Community and Economic Development, environmental and administrative services, the Office of Family and Children First and Stillwater Center, home to the county’s most disabled citizens.

The pool of candidates included seven from Ohio including Montgomery County’s Deputy Administrator Joe Tuss of Butler Twp., who was appointed interim county administrator in June. Tuss joined the county team in 2001 as community and economic development director leading initiatives such as the $70 million Austin Interchange Project and the $17.3 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Other Dayton-area candidates include Jean Bernadette Gerren, owner of Premier Professional Realty of Dayton. Gerren also worked for the United States Post Office as a postmaster and an Equal Employment Opportunity investigator.

Rebecca Ehling of Morrow, a 15-year Hamilton Twp. trustee in Warren County, also applied for the job. Ehling is the office manager for Carl W.Oeder Trucking, Inc.

Also from Morrow is Clarence Scott McVey, administrator for the Warren County Common Pleas Court since 2008. He also worked as the director of operations for the Montgomery Developmental Center in Dayton, a state home for people with developmental disabilities.

Bernard E. Houston, of Lewis Center, OH, is an adjunct professor for the Center Ohio Technical College. Formerly, he was a senior policy adviser for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

John Jezak is the administrator and safety director for the city of Maumee in Lucas County, Ohio. He oversees the police and fire departments, the city prosecutor, building and zoning inspections along with economic development.

Youngstown resident Walter J. Pishkur, an adjunct professor for the Butler Community College in Pennsylvania, is among the candidates. Pishkur is the former director of business development for United Water, Inc. in Harrington Park, New Jersey.

Five of the applicants are from Georgia. Steve Howard of Kingsland is the only working county administrator among the candidates besides, Tuss. He has been administrator of Camden County, Ga. since 2007. The county, with a population of 50,513, has a $44 million budget.

Awoyunla Lowman Smith of Atlanta is the assistant to the county manager in Fulton County, Ga., a government serving one million residents. Smith oversees information technology, human resources, communications and Fulton Government Television.

D. Aaron Blair is the downtown city manager and chief executive officer for the city of Albany, Ga., and the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority. He is responsible for management and budget operations.

Angela Montgomery is the former deputy/interim city manager of East Point, Ga. She worked for the city of Dayton from 1996-2005 in various jobs including acting revenue and taxation division manager.

Crandall O. Jones of Hoschton, Ga. is the chief executive officer of ENOSHA Management Services, LLC. The firm provides technical assistance, project management and other services for the public and private sector.

Several of the candidates are based in Washington, D. C. including O. Paul Shew, of Peer Consultants, P.C. an international firm providing engineering and disaster long-term recovery services. Shew is the former city manager of Rye, New York.

Christopher A. Dina of Laurel, Md. has worked as a management analyst for the Division of Motor Vehicles in Washington D. C. since 2009. Applicant Hector Rivera Sr., lives in Palm City, Fla., but has worked as a consultant for the Washington D. C.-based Casals & Associates since 2010. He is a former assistant city manage of Cape Coral, Fla.

William J. Cooper is the former city manager of Hamtramck, Mich., a city of 22,000 with an annual budget of $24 million. Terrence R. Moore has served as the city manager of Morgantown, W. Va. since 2010. The city of 75,000 residents has a $160 million total operating budget. Robert A. Schaumleffel, Jr. is the former town manager for Red Springs, N.C. He also served as city manager in Conneaut, Ohio and Creedmor, N.C.

Jamal T. Fox holds an administrative support position with the city of Greensboro, N.C. He provides analytical and professional assistance to the the Department of Community Development. Fox listed former Dayton City Manager Rashad Young as a reference. Young left Dayton to become city manager of Greensboro.

Scott S. Randal of Hot Springs, Ark. has worked as a city manager, assistant manager, town manager and village manager dating back to 1983. He most recently served as town manager of Superior, Colo. a community in the Denver metropolitan area with 14,000 residents and a $33 million budget.