A search for Carter County’s next financial director is well underway with all of the resumes now collected.

Applicants had until the close of business on Friday to submit their resumes for consideration for the position. More than 20 individuals submitted resumes for consideration by the county.

Members of the Financial Management Committee will meet in a special called session on Monday, March 26, at 6 p.m., at the Carter County Courthouse to review the resumes and begin narrowing down applicants for interviews.

Current Carter County Finance Director Christa Byrd announced her resignation to members of the Financial Management Committee earlier this month, stating she has accepted another position which will allow her to spend more time with her family. Byrd’s last day will be March 28. Deputy Finance Director Michael Kennedy will serve as Interim Finance Director while the committee searches for someone to fill the role.

During the Financial Management Committee meeting on March 7, committee members set a schedule they hope to follow in selecting a new Finance Director. The committee will review the resumes on Monday and then set up interviews with selected candidates April 3-5. The committee will then review the interviews and hope to make an offer to one of the candidates by April 9. That would put a potential start date for the new director around April 23, depending on what amount of notice they would need to give their current employer.

Because the Finance Director works closely with the county’s Budget Committee, and with the annual budget process already underway for the year, Financial Management Committee Chairman Danny Ward invited Budget Committee Chairwoman Sonja Culler to sit in on the interview process.