Etowah hires new CAO

The Etowah County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved hiring Sherrie Kelley as chief administrative officer.  Kelley was among three candidates commission members interviewed last week.  The commission approved an annual salary of $85,000 plus benefits. Kelley is scheduled to begin work Aug. 7.  Kelley has been county administrator with the Coosa County Commission since 2001. She served as assistant county administrator before that and has had other positions with Coosa and Clay counties.  She said in her interview last week that she believes her biggest challenge is that Etowah County’s budget and operations are larger than Coosa County’s. However, she said her experience will offset that and she feels comfortable with the move.