PARIS – Advertisements for a new town manager will begin Monday in response to Steve McAllister’s announcement of his resignation.

At a special meeting Wednesday, the Paris Board of Selectmen agreed that time is of the essence.

“I think we ought to get (the ad) in the newspaper as soon as possible and see what we come up with as soon as possible,” Selectman Gerald Kilgore said.

“And what do we do in the interim?” Chairman Bill Merrill asked.

That question was left largely unanswered, although Vice Chairman Bruce Hanson stressed his interest in soliciting immediate help from town staff.

Fliers should be given to department heads today, and Friday’s pay envelopes should be stuffed with notices announcing the board’s interest in considering in-house candidates for the interim position, he said.

“I feel we need somebody in the office as soon as we can get somebody in there,” he said.

McAllister announced his intention to resign at Monday’s regular board meeting. His last day on the payroll will be Nov. 11, but he expects to use accrued vacation time and leave in late October.

The board did not discuss how much money is available to pay an interim town manager, or a policy for selecting that person.

The ad for a town manager will run in the Sun Journal, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland Press Herald from Oct. 4 to 10, the board decided. It also will be posted on the Maine Municipal Association online job bank for one month.

Applications will be due at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Hanson said the board is “possibly looking at a starting time in December.”