EASTHAMPTON - More than 30 people have sent in applications to be city planner, a post held by Stuart Beckley for more than two decades.

Mayor Michael A. Tautznik appointed an advisory committee to assist him in selecting a new planner. Although the planner is a mayoral appointee, Tautznik said he asked city officials and a local business owner to help him screen and interview candidates.

They are Planning Board chairman Ronald Chateauneuf, former Planning Board chairman and current Licensing Board member Jason Duda, Jacqueline Brousseau-Pereira of the Housing Partnership Committee and Jean-Pierre Pasche, owner of Eastmont Custom Framing.

"I wanted a variety of people who would have a unique perspective on the work of the city planner," he said Friday.

After working for the city for 22 years, Beckley will leave Feb. 3 to become Ware Town Manager. Now that the Jan. 19 deadline for applications is past, Tautznik said he will screen the applications to remove any that do not meet the minimum requirements. He hopes to do the final interviews in the first two weeks of February, but said that will depend on scheduling with the candidates and the members of the advisory committee. The candidate could begin working in March, he said.

The city planner position was advertised at annual salary of $46,558 to $55,594 for a 32-hour workweek. Requirements included a bachelor's degree in planning or a related field, though a master's degree is preferred, and a minimum of three years of experience.