OAKLAND — More than two months after the city expected to announce the hiring of a new chief to lead its troubled fire department in the wake of the Ghost Ship disaster, it remains unclear how soon the position will be filled.

One of the finalists, Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Butler, told the Bay Area News Group on Friday he was offered the job at the end of August but turned it down because the compensation package would mean a pay cut.

Multiple sources said another finalist, former Oakland firefighter and current Richmond Deputy Chief Emon Usher, is no longer being considered. Usher did not return a call for comment Friday.

Interim Fire Chief Darin White, identified as a contender by the sources who spoke on the condition anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, in an interview Friday said he has “not been told yes or no.”

It’s unclear which candidates remain or if others have applied since Butler rejected the position, but Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio, who would not identify job applicants, citing the confidential process, said City Hall is still evaluating candidates.

The hiring comes at a crucial time for Oakland. The Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire, the deadliest blaze in the state’s history with 36 victims, put a spotlight on failings within the fire prevention bureau to inspect the city’s vast and diverse housing stock.

Interviews for the job began as early as July, according to sources and Butler, and the process has stretched beyond Mayor Libby Schaaf’s earlier announcement that a new chief would head the Oakland Fire Department by the end of summer.

After the nationwide fire chief search and recruitment was launched in May, some 30 people applied for the job, the city announced.

Butler, a 27-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department and son of a Mexican immigrant, appeared the early favorite.

The former Harvard fellow said he filled out an application after a recruiter contacted him but quickly saw that the compensation package would mean a pay cut. He withdrew his name, but the recruiter was persistent and said the city was willing to negotiate on compensation after Butler made it clear he would want pay equal to his current salary.

With that assurance, he said he was brought in for a half-dozen interviews, at least two with City Administrator Sabrina Landreth present, and later with Schaaf. In meetings, Butler said he told officials and community members, from organized labor to the NAACP, it would be the last outside hire the department would ever make because he would rebuild the leadership chain within the department.

After studying Oakland, Butler said he wanted to restructure Oakland’s commercial building inspections to prioritize structures with a high risk to human life, changes he said he implemented in Los Angeles after the Ghost Ship fire. A fluent Spanish speaker, he holds a doctorate in policy, planning and development from the University of Southern California.

On Aug. 29, Butler said the city offered him the job, and asked him to sign the contract quickly because it wanted to introduce him the next day at a news conference. However, he balked because the contract would have meant an approximate $50,000 pay cut, despite the assurances he thought he had received.

“I think it was a missed opportunity because it was my dream job,” Butler said in a phone interview Friday.

“(The pay) was nothing like what they said it was going to be,” he added.

The city offered $239,000 a year, which along with benefits reached around $290,000. The city offered no severance package. Last year, Butler made about $289,000 in total compensation, according to Transparent California. He said that didn’t include vacation pay and other items that made the offer about a $50,000 pay cut.

By comparison, former Oakland Fire Chief Teresa DeLoach Reed earned a base salary of $226,000 in 2016.

“You’re not going to find a metropolitan fire executive who will take a pay cut and work for Oakland to deal with these types of problems,” he said. “Had they offered me equal or adequate financial package, I’d be up there right now.”

Cappio would not comment when asked about Butler’s account, again citing the “cone of silence” to ensure applicants remain confidential. She would not say how many candidates remain in the running.

Meanwhile, Landreth, whose job it is under the city charter to hire the chief, continues to help manage the fire department, sources said, an added responsibility since Reed went on leave and later retired in May. Reed’s leave around early February coincided with the hiring of a new police chief, Anne Kirkpatrick, which relieved Landreth from also managing the Police Department since shortly after Sean Whent abruptly resigned amid an officers’ sexual misconduct scandal in June 2016.

“There are great people who are local and who can do the job now,” one city source said. “I don’t get why we aren’t using those options. It’s really a problem that it’s been all these months and we don’t have a fire chief.”