CALAIS – After 35 years as a police officer with the city – the last 17 as police chief – Michael Milburn is stepping down.

Milburn, who is retiring because of health reasons, handed in his retirement letter to City Manager Diane Barnes on Wednesday.

“I must retire from the position of chief of police with the Calais Police Department,” he wrote. “This is a great city, and I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve and protect so many citizens. I found the most rewarding part of my job was being able to help citizens with their problems.”

Milburn thanked residents for their support throughout his career.

Milburn was hired in 1972 and promoted to sergeant in 1984. He was promoted to chief in 1991.

Barnes said Milburn will be missed.

“I think that it is just extraordinary for an individual to devote that amount of time to one entity. He clearly adored his job and really liked what he was doing,” she said.

The city manager noted Milburn’s job was extremely demanding. “When you are a police chief, you are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.

She said now that Milburn has retired, he could spend more time with his family, including his wife, Lynn.

“Now his wife gets to have him back,” she said.

Assistant City Manager Jim Porter said Wednesday that Milburn’s departure was a loss to the city. “When I was interim manager at various times he always supported me,” he said.

David Fletcher, who has been a lawyer in the city for nearly 37 years, most recently as city solicitor, said he has known Milburn for 36 of those years. “He has been an excellent police officer and sergeant and chief throughout his tenure,” he said.

Fletcher noted that Milburn always handled himself well and was fair. “He tried to look at every side of a situation before he took action,” he said.

The next step for the city will be to hire his replacement.

Barnes said she plans to advertise in newspapers and through the Maine Municipal Association’s Web site. “Once you put it in the paper and on the Web site, it is open to anyone to apply,” she said.

Barnes said she did not plan to rush the hiring process. “We are going to do this carefully,” she said. But she said she hopes to have a new chief of police sometime in September. “Right now, we have Sgt. Dave Randall who is acting police chief, and he is doing a great job for us,” she said.

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