PORT ANGELES — Clallam County’s new chief financial officer is expected to start Dec. 17 as the county kicks off the “pilot” for its new finance department.

Interim County Administrator Rich Sill said Monday morning that the county selected Mark Lane of Gig Harbor to be the county’s new chief financial officer.

He said Lane has accepted the position and the county is just awaiting a signed contract.

Lane, who will draw on his experience in the private sector, will work closely with Auditor’s Chief Accountant Stan Creasey until at least the end of February. Lane will earn $8,477.28 per month.

Lane, 49, is an executive Certified Public Accountant with 25 years of experience in the private sector, most recently with McClatchy Co. in Tacoma.

McClatchy owns several newspapers in the state, including The News Tribune, The Olympian and The Bellingham Herald.

Creasey has planned to retire March 1, but said Monday he would be willing to work through much of March if that made the transition easier for the county.

Hiring a chief financial officer is part of the county’s plans to create a finance department, which officials have said would streamline the county’s finances and remove the financial responsibilities from the county administrator position.

“Mark, as CFO and department head, will be interfacing directly with both the office of the County Administrator and Auditor and will be working closely with every county department,” Sill said. “This office will provide for a comprehensive oversight of county financial operations as well as provide detailed research and analysis on projects and processes as assigned.”

The county had offered the county administrator position to a candidate in September, but rescinded its offer when the county discovered information that showed the candidate was not the “right fit” for the county.

The commissioners decided in October to move ahead on hiring a chief financial officer before hiring a new county administrator to replace former County Administrator Jim Jones.

Commissioners said Monday they would like to restart the hiring process for a new county administrator this spring — after the county transitions to working with the finance department.

Sill, who heads the Human Resources Department and Risk Management for the county, said he was surprised taking on the extra role has not been as difficult as he expected.

He said that’s largely because in recent weeks the county has moved to more of a team approach.

“I thought it was going to be significantly more than what it was, but because of the team concept it hasn’t been that way,” Sill said.

Commissioner Mark Ozias said the county could look at restarting the process in April or May. In the meantime the county should continue to develop the team approach, he said.

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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.