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The Berwick Select Board has appointed police Chief Timothy Towne as interim town manager while it searches for someone to take on the role permanently.

The board voted unanimously at an Oct. 6 meeting to appoint Towne, with a start date this week. Five days into his new post, Towne said he’s inherited a lot of responsibility.

“I’m walking into things, you know, that have been taking place for quite some time, so getting caught up to speed on things is a little challenging,” he said Thursday. “I’m doing a lot of reading, a lot of research, so I can get informed enough to make sure things continue as they should.”

Towne has spent more than 30 years serving Berwick, starting at the police department in 1993 as a reserve officer. He then served as a detective and a sergeant before rising to the chief position in 2001.

He took the interim job “simply because there’s a need for it.” He knew the Select Board was in a bind when former Town Manager Arthur Capello announced he was stepping down and taking on a city administrator role in Missouri.

“It’s not easy to find a town manager that’s willing to just walk through the door,” Towne said.

So when the Select Board approached him, he didn’t have to think too hard about it before he took the job.

He’ll be serving both roles — police chief and interim town manager — concurrently with the help of others at the police department but admits he’s an exceptionally busy man.

Towne’s also preparing for Nov. 3, when his neighbors will decide whether he should be elected House District 149 representative. The Republican’s in a two-way race with South Berwick Town Council Vice Chair Mallory Cook, a Democrat.

(House District 149 encompasses portions of North Berwick and South Berwick and is currently represented by Democrat Tiffany Roberts, who’s termed out of office.)

Towne said he’s happy to help for now, but that he has a soft agreement with the town come November. If he’s elected as a state representative — a goal he committed to before taking on the interim role — then he’ll step away from his town hall position.

“I just want to keep it stable for the people that work here,” Towne said. “The town is progressing very well. There’s a lot of things going on in town, and you don’t like to see things have to take a back seat.”

The Select Board is actively searching for Berwick’s next manager and said at the Oct. 6 meeting that it’s seeking a recruiting firm to help find that person.