Amador County has selected a new county administrative officer.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Brian Oneto confirmed to the Ledger Dispatch that Charles "Chuck" Iley, who currently serves as director of developmental services in Orange Park, Clay County, Florida, has been given a conditional offer of employment, pending a background check and investigation. Iley is expected to begin working for Amador County in about a month.

Oneto said Iley is an engineer and an AICP, APA-certified planner, and plans to relocate from Florida. Oneto said Iley, who has family members in the Volcano area, graduated from the University of North Florida, where he attained a master's degree in business administration. Iley also attended the University of Miami, where he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He also is a registered professional engineer in the state of California and once worked for Caltrans, overseeing highway and bridge projects. Oneto said Iley has worked for Clay County for nine years, and came to the attention of the board through an advertisement they placed in a professional magazine.

Iley's position was advertised at $132,165 annually, but, Oneto said, due to budget cuts, including furloughs currently in place for all county employees, he will start at $118,949 per year.

Oneto explained that a CAO serves at the pleasure of the board.

"The board was basically quite pleased with him," Oneto said. "He seems to be a common-sense, level-headed, capable individual."

Oneto said Iley's responsibilities in Florida included management, engineering, planning, zoning-code enforcement and building-department duties in a county of 185,000 residents.

Oneto said 23 individuals were interviewed by the board of supervisors before the field was narrowed down to five, then down to two. The board made their final decision to hire Iley on Tuesday.

The offer of conditional employment was made Wednesday.

Oneto said both of the final two candidates were very capable and impressed the board with their skill sets, leaving them with a tough decision.

"They were both very good guys," he said. "It made our decision very hard."

Oneto said Iley once took over responsibilities as acting head of the public works department in Clay County after the regular public works director left that position. "As an engineer, Iley took over in the middle of a crisis, before taking over as director of developmental services," he explained.

Oneto said references offered by Iley, subsequently contacted by the board, said Iley had excellent budgeting and people skills, and was referred to as a "straight shooter."

Iley will take over the reins from outgoing CAO Terri Daly, who resigned the top job in Amador County for an assistant CAO position in El Dorado County.