PORT ANGELES — A three-year contract has been tentatively offered to Todd Mielke to be Clallam County’s new administrator.

Mielke, 58, has a tentative start date of Aug. 1 with a public hearing to confirm his employment set for Aug. 8.

His starting salary will be $195,316 per year.

Mielke was the clear “stand out” candidate among three finalists who applied for the position when the county restarted the search for a role in May.

Mielke previously served as a Spokane County Commissioner from 2004-2016 and was the chief administrative officer for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

Since 2018, Clallam County Human Resources Director Rich Sill has served as the interim county administrator.

“Thank you to Rich for the work you’ve done over the last few years to help shape a new vision of what the county administrator position can and should be,” Commissioner Mark Ozias said on Monday during the Clallam County Commissioners’ work session.

The decoupling of those roles was the key reason to begin the search for an administrator and allow Sill to focus on his role as the HR director.

“We are on the precipice of an exciting and significant change for our organization,” Ozias said.

The role of the county administrator is to oversee multiple departments and services, such as handling all of the contracts with department heads and deputy directors.

Clallam County commissioners chose to offer a three-year contract to Mielke, noting it allows the commissioners the opportunity to address any political changes ahead of election years and also address salary changes.

“A three-year contract builds in a more regular opportunity of recognition of potential political turnover and whatnot of the future board,” Ozias said.

“The three years allows you to come back and readjust the salary rate as well to be competitive,” Sill said.

The county hopes to set up a meet-and-greet event in the coming weeks to introduce Mielke to the county staff and public.

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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.