The 36 people who have applied for the open position of town adminsitrator in Milford include business owners, accountants, attorneys and several former town managers in New England towns and cities.

The applicant pool includes seven local residents. They are: Barbara A. Auger, the Milford town treasurer; Noel G. Bon Tempo, a Conservation Commission member and teacher with Milford Public Schools; William E. Kingkade Jr., a Milford Finance Committee member; Michael Meurant, a real estate agent and general contractor; Wendell Phillips Jr., Milford's assistant town accountant; Scott Savage, a business owner; and Richard A. Villani, a Geriatric Authority member and attorney.

Some of the other applicants include Glenn E. Aho, former city manager in Auburn, Maine; Robin M. Bennett, former manager in Southwest Harbor, Maine; Steven C. Boudreau, former manager in Ware; William A. DiLibero, former administrator in Charlestown, RI; and Grady E. Miller, the former town manager in Narragansett, RI.

In all, 11 of the candidates have previous experience as a town manager, according to a spreadsheet prepared by the current town administrator. Twenty of the candidates have at least seven years of public administration experience.

Eight of the candidates, including four of the Milford applicants, do not have a master's degree in public administration, accountancy or business administration, or the equivalent, a degree that selectmen said was strongly preferred when the job was advertised. The local candidates with bachelor's degrees are Auger, Kingkade, Phillips and Savage.

Milford Selectmen plan to spend the next few weeks deciding which candidates should be interviewed. Interviews are expected to be conducted in January, with a decision on a candidate slated for February to early March.

Louis Celozzi, the Milford town administrator of 16 years, will retire in late March. Seletmen have said they hope to have his successor in place for several weeks before his departure, to assure a smooth transition.

The salary range for his replacement will be between $90,000 and $125,000, although the board will negotiate a contract. The board, in setting the job description, said the person should have experience in government management. A master's degree in business administration, accounting or public administration was strongly preferred. Prior experience as a town manager or administrator was not a requirement.