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Prince William County has selected a search firm to find its next county executive.

The county on March 21 awarded a $70,000 contract to Washington, D.C.-based Polihire Strategy Corp.

The terms of the contract require the county to pay the company 20% of the first-year compensation for whomever it hires. The $70,000 expected cost correlates to an expected salary of $350,000.

The contract is for one year with two renewal options. Its proposed timeline for a hire is about six months.

Deputy County Executive Elijah Johnson has held the county’s top administrative position since Jan. 1.

Johnson, who has a salary of about $214,000, is receiving a 15% raise while serving as interim county executive.

Johnson was appointed after County Executive Chris Martino, who had been county executive since 2016, retired effective Dec. 31. He had been with the county for 26 years. Martino’s salary was about $337,000.

Polihire, founded in 2005, has completed more than 575 searches in the public sector and for nonprofits and other non-governmental organizations. The company previously worked with the Prince William County Service Authority, most recently finding general manager Calvin Farr last year.