LEWISTON — City officials will interview four candidates for city administrator in November.

Earlier this month, the council decided to readvertise the position after the first advertisement yielded only nine applicants. The deadline for submitting applications was extended to Oct. 23.

The council met in executive session Monday to review the candidates, and on Tuesday, city consultant Don Gerrish told the Sun Journal that the effort garnered seven more applications. After the review, the mayor and council decided to interview four applicants the week of Nov. 18, Gerrish said.

Gerrish was hired by the council over the summer to conduct the search following the resignation of Heather Hunter in March. Deputy City Administrator Brian O’Malley has been serving as acting city administrator.

Since Monday’s discussion took place in executive session, elected officials declined to offer details on the applicants. However, Ward 1 Councilor Josh Nagine, who has emphasized the importance of the administrator hire, said “we are looking forward to finding the ‘right fit’ for our community concerning new leadership.”

“The hiring process will continue to be open to staff and the public to share feedback and participate,” he said. “We thank Mr. Gerrish for this continued efforts and professional support in this process and I personally feel we are considerably closer to turning the page than we were last week.”

Prior to posting the job advertisement this summer, Gerrish estimated the city could receive between 20 and 25 applications, but he also told the council there have been times when municipalities don’t select a new administrator following the first round of applications. He also said that on average he’s been seeing fewer applicants for city managerial positions in recent years, and that the housing market hasn’t helped.

Gerrish told the council this summer that a recent search in Bar Harbor yielded 18 applications.

On Tuesday, Mayor Carl Sheline said, “I’m glad the search process is moving forward and I appreciate working with Don Gerrish and the councilors on this important hire for our city.”

Gerrish has done more than 70 executive searches since 2009 after serving as a city manager in several municipalities, including Gorham and Brunswick. He’ll be paid $10,000, plus reimbursement of direct expenses.

The revised timeline for the search is expected to result in a candidate being selected by mid-December, prior to which the city would hold candidate meet-and-greets with finalists.

The City Council sought candidates with a minimum of seven years of municipal executive management experience or similar related private business experience. The salary range was listed at between $165,000 and $195,000, depending on experience and qualifications.