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Village officials will have to re-start the search for a new village administrator/clerk after a second candidate late last week withdrew himself from further consideration for the position.

The Holmen Village Board had been expected to approve the hiring of Larry Ruff of rural Trempealeau, a former treasurer and clerk for the city of Blair, Wis., at its monthly meeting last Thursday. But the board called for a last-minute closed session discussion of the matter Thursday, and then tabled the issue in open session.

Friday morning, John Chapman, president of the board, told the Courier that Ruff had removed his name from further consideration.

The village received 35 applications for the position, which opened up in November when Gene Alberts, who had been the village's clerk/administrator for almost 10 years, left to take a position in the finance department at Viterbo University. Village officials narrowed the field down to four candidates, and conducted interviews. But the top two candidates have now removed themselves from consideration.

Chapman said the village will begin advertising for the position this week for a couple of weeks. The deadline for applications is Feb. 6. The village's Finance and Personnel Committee will review applications at its monthly meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10, and interviews will be scheduled for Feb. 23 and 24. Chapman said he now hopes to have someone in place by early April.

The ad is posted on the village's Web site at www.holmenwi.com.

The village, at Chapman's request, put in a residency requirement when initially advertising for the position. But that requirement might have played a part in the two candidates turning down the job. So Chapman said village officials might have to revisit the residency requirement, although Chapman said he still feels strongly that the new administrator should be, or become, a village resident.

"I think if you're going to be the village administrator, ... you should be paying your fair share of the taxes in the village," Chapman said. "They want to work here, I think they should live here."