Jefferson City has begun searching for a new finance director with current director Steve Schlueter set to retire at the end of September.
City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus said the application process closed a few weeks ago and the city received fewer than 20 applications.
"We were kind of disappointed that there weren't more applicants," Nickolaus said.
He said none of the applicants are current city staff members, but some are local people.
Nickolaus said a committee has been established to review applications and interview candidates. The committee is made up of three City Council members, four city staff members and a city auditor, who acts as a nonvoting adviser.
But the process isn't moving very quickly, he said, and there is a chance a candidate won't be selected by the time Schlueter retires.
"It's going a little slowly," Nickolaus said. "It may be that we don't have one in line exactly when (Schlueter) leaves."