ROCKLAND – The long search for a Knox County Jail administrator is over.

Richard Robbins of Warren will begin working Monday at the jail.

Knox County commissioners confirmed his appointment Wednesday, according to Sheriff Daniel Davey.

Commissioners offered Robbins the budgeted salary of $36,062, although he had asked for a higher wage. Commissioners did agree to boost his pay at the end of the six-month probationary period, Davey said.

“What a relief,” Davey said Thursday. The job had been vacant since June.

Maj. David Lovejoy, who had held the position since May 1996, resigned to take a position with the state Department of Corrections.

Davey has been under pressure to get the jail in better order, following an inspection by the state Department of Corrections. The jail scored 88 out of a possible 100 on its report card, and the area needing the most improvement was record-keeping.

County officials thought the search was over in October when former jail Sgt. David Hooper accepted the job.

Hooper, however, withdrew his acceptance when commissioners cut the pay from the amount he was first offered.

Commissioners said Hooper did not have the same level of experience as the previous administrator, and therefore, should not earn the same pay.

Robbins worked for the state for 18 years as a prison guard and probation and parole officer. He served as prosecutorial assistant to the district attorney in Rockland for approximately a year.

Robbins also has management experience in the private sector and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York, with a major in philosophy.

Robbins could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Davey was not certain whether Robbins would take on the rank of his predecessor, which was “major” because he lacks law enforcement experience from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Waterville.

The sheriff said he will consider having Robbins serve as a civilian administrator.

“He’s going to be a welcome addition to the staff,” Davey said.

As the top administrator of the facility, which is designed to house 49 inmates, Robbins will manage approximately 34 full-time employees and about 10 part-time workers.