Updated 2:44 p.m.: James Bourey said by phone Tuesday afternoon he had watched Tuesday morning's proceedings, was excited by the outcome, though he had not yet received Alachua County's initial contract.
He declined to say whether the county's offer of $160,000 in base salary was in line with his expectations, nor did he indicate whether he would accept or decline.
For now, he's just happy to be the leading vote-getter out of five original applicants.
"I'm delighted they selected me as their candidate to work out a contract with," he said.
Bourey is originally from New Hampshire but has spent his career in local government positions across the country. He most recently served as city manager for Greenville, S.C.
Greenville's city council reportedly forced him to resign in 2010.
Since then, he has worked as director of corporate development for Elliott Davis, LLC.
"After working for three years in the private sector, I'm really anxious to get back and be a manager," he said. "I'm sure that in the next few days I'll be able to look (Alachua County's contract) over and have conversations with the chairman and the county attorney."
Original story: Alachua County commissioners decided Tuesday to enter into contract talks with James Bourey of Greenville, to be the new county manager.
As commissioners ranked candidates, Bourey was first, Stockton Whitten of Brevard County was second and Charles Oliver of Pensacola was third.
Commission chairman Mike Byerly and county manager Rick Drummond will try to negotiate a contract with Bourey, with the stipulation that the base salary not exceed $160,000.
If Byerly and Drummond can't reach a deal with Bourey, talks would start with Whitten, the second-place candidate, should the commission opt not to raise Bourey's salary offer.
Drummond has been acting county manager since Jan. 10, 2012, when Randall Reid left for Sarasota's county administrator position.