Grand Traverse County commissioners will discuss their top picks Wednesday for county administrator from a pool of 19 candidates who submitted resumes for the county's highest-paid post.

The Ticker obtained 16 of the submitted applications via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request; the applications of three candidates who specifically requested confidentiality were withheld. Of those who applied, only one candidate is a woman (Ellen Ance, a former HR director for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians). Just a handful of applicants are from the Grand Traverse region, including retiring Bay Area Transportation Authority Executive Director Tom Menzel, CenturyLink business consultant Dennis Greenfelder and Isaiah Wunsch, a business development manager with Wunsch Farms and former Michigan Economic Development Corporation specialist.

Almost none of the candidates are currently working in municipal positions, though a significant percentage have extensive business consulting backgrounds or leadership experience in other industries, including education and healthcare. One exception is Marquette City Manager William Vajda, who has held that position since 2010 and previously worked for the White House at the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative and was the Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of Education.

Menzel has been working on a contractual basis for the county since early July and helped craft the job description for county administrator before applying for the position. He has also participated in finance reviews, HR meetings, board discussions and other county-related work sessions. Asked if the arrangement gave him an unfair advantage over other candidates, Menzel told The Ticker commissioners' familiarity with him was likely to "increase their comfort level," but said his resume "stands up either way" against other candidates.

Commissioners plan to review applications this week and come to Wednesday night's 6pm board meeting at the Governmental Center with their preferred short list of applicants to invite for interviews. The position of county administrator has a listed salary of $115,793-$141,524 annually. The application deadline was August 25.