Lisbon Town Council has selected Police Chief Ryan McGee as the new interim town manager.

McGee will officially start in the role on Wednesday, Jan. 5, but he will work alongside Town Manager Diane Barnes until she leaves for a new post in North Yarmouth on Jan. 21

“I told the town manager that I will gladly step up to help the town until they can find a permanent town manager,” said McGee. “I am going to continue to make sure things are running smoothly, and I will ensure I am available to people that have concerns that we can bring forward to the town manager.”

In December, Barnes announced her resignation from her current position to serve as North Yarmouth’s new town manager starting Jan. 31. The council accepted her resignation Tuesday.

Barnes was the manager in Lisbon for seven years.

According to The Forecaster, Barnes said that she would like to work for a small community that has a town meeting form of government.

“I am going to miss everybody that I worked with here. It is a great team, and we have done a lot together,” said Barnes. “Appointing (McGee) as the interim town manager is the best way to move Lisbon forward in the interim, and I am pleased to work with him.”

Barnes will earn an annual salary of $100,000. Her salary is based on the Maine Municipal Association’s survey of town manager salaries across the state, as well as her past experience and salary history, according to The Forecaster.

Council Chair Fern Larochelle said it is great for the town to have McGee on board because he is already invested in the community.

McGee has been serving as Lisbon’s police chief for a little over a year and has been a member of the Lisbon Police Department for nearly 22 years. He worked as a reserve officer in Mechanic Falls for a year before he was hired at Lisbon Police Department full-time in 2002. In 2015, he was promoted to sergeant, followed by a promotion to lieutenant four years later.

“He is well liked in the community and by the town employees,” said Larochelle. “He is a good fit and will support him 100% as he has the best interest of the town at heart. We are going to kind of lean on him to help us through the transition and whatever needs to be done.”

Larochelle said it might take them several months to finalize on a permanent town manager.

“We assume it is going to take several months to hire a new town manager,” said Larochelle. “Ryan expressed to us his most important role is police chief, so if this becomes too overwhelming for him, we will see if we can hire a full-time interim until we are able to hire a new town manager.”

While McGee is out of his office, Police Lieutenant Jeffrey Picard will handle day-to-day operations at the Police Department.

“I will still be available at the police department during the day if any major incidents happen,” said McGee. “Fortunately, the police department and the town office are connected, so if anybody needs anything, they can give me a call or stop by my office—I have an open-door policy.”

Brianna Roach, a Lisbon resident, said that she is not surprised that McGee has been appointed as the interim town manager, considering he cares a lot about the town.

“He is amazing, and the things he has done for the community I am not surprised he was appointed the interim town manager,” said Roach. “He does such a great job keeping this town safe.”

Justine Fucci, a resident of Lisbon Falls, believes that McGee will do well as the interim town manager.

“Both my husband and I know McGee, and my dad helped him build his house,” said Fucci. “He is approachable and helpful, and he truly cares about his community.”

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