DALTON, Ga. — Dalton Mayor Dennis Mock says he believes the City Council will be able to name a new city administrator or at least the finalists for the position by the end of the year. But first, city officials will have to evaluate some 80 applications.

“That’s a huge number, but we are absolutely pleased to see such an interest,” Mock said.

The application period ended Aug. 31.

Mock said Human Resources Director Greg Batts will first go through the applications to weed out any that don’t meet standards. The ad for the job said the ideal candidate should have “direct experience working with elected officials, a firm knowledge and understanding of public financial operations, familiarity with local funding methods and shared services agreements as well as effective communication and proven management skills.”

“We know at this point that the quality of all the candidates is not as great as the quantity, but it does look like there are a significant number of high-quality candidates in there,” Mock said. “We hope Greg can narrow it down, so there isn’t an overwhelming number of applications. Then, council members will read them individually and discuss them and decide which candidates we wish to talk to or get further information from.”

Batts said four of the applications came from Whitfield County and surrounding counties. The rest came from as far away as Tennessee, Florida and even Missouri.

Former city administrator Ty Ross resigned in September 2016 after almost seven years on the job.