Timothy Sorrell was appointed acting police chief on Monday night.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Timothy Sorrell will take over police operations Wednesday.

 

On Monday night, the Board of Selectmen appointed Sorrell the acting chief as of midnight Tuesday night.

 

Current Chief Mark Bashara will use vacation time and stay on payroll until Friday, May 29, and then enter retirement.

 

"Today's Mark [Bashara's] last day," said Town Administrator Paul Sieloff. "He'll still be on the payroll but the day-to-day operations will be in the hands of Tim Sorrell."

 

Sieloff said Bashara was willing to part with the job as soon as the Board of Selectmen were comfortable.

 

On Monday during negotiations, Sorrell and the Selectmen agreed to a temporary salary of $80,000 for Sorrell to take over the job now.

 

The two sides will continue to hammer out a contract that'll be put in place on July 1, when the new fiscal year starts. The new contract is expected to be for three years.

 

"We're close but we're not there yet," Sieloff said. "The expectation is that his official appoint of chief [will be] as of July 1."

 

The Selectmen set the process to hire a new chief to conclude an earlier than an anticipated retirement of Bashara at the end of May to provide time for the new chief to get used to the position.

 

However, Sorrell has been with the department for 28 years and Bashara handed over the keys, per se, early because extensive training wasn't needed. Bashara agreed to use vacation time for the final two weeks.

 

"Tim [Sorrell] used to be a sergeant so he knows the policies and procedures," Sieloff said. 

 

Bashara informed the town he intended to retire last April, providing one-year notice. The town then launched a search for a new chief and three candidates applied. Sorrell was chosen by both the Police Advisory Commission and the Board of Selectmen.

 

Sorrell started with the department as a full-time patrolman in 1987 and was a sergeant for 12 years. In 2013, he became an investigator.

 

The Board of Selectmen and Sorrell has been negotiating the contract for the last month, since the Selectmen opted to offer Sorrell the job in April. Sieloff says the contract may be approved as early as next Monday.