PARIS — Selectmen voted Friday night to appoint Michael Dailey the interim police chief, effective immediately.

Dailey, formerly a lieutenant with the department, submitted his resignation Nov. 13 after accepting a position with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. Later, he asked to stay with the Paris police when he learned Chief David Verrier was also leaving.

Dailey, a 14-year veteran of the department, told selectmen he was interested in taking over for Verrier, if they wanted him.

In a 20-minute executive session Friday, selectmen voted to appoint Dailey.

Chairman Sam Elliot said the plan is to open up the position for applications for “whoever wants to apply for it, including (Dailey).”

He said an audit of the department, which had been canceled on Monday, would still happen in the near future. He said both Dailey and newly-hired Town Manager Amy Bernard, who will start in about a week, expressed interest in having the audit.

“We canceled it, but that doesn’t mean we lost interest in it,” Elliot said. He said the audit would review personnel and training procedures. “If they have a recommendation to make it better, we want to hear it.” He said selectmen wanted to wait until Dailey had settled into the position before having the audit.

In October, selectmen agreed to spend up to $6,000 for an audit of the Police Department by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, saying it would be good for the department to have a peer evaluation.

Elliot said Daley will make $28.85 an hour for a 40-hour week.

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