POLAND — Selectmen on Tuesday appointed Mark Bosse as acting town manager.

Selectmen offered the job to Bosse two weeks ago, the day after they placed the current town manager, Rosemary Roy, on administrative leave.

According to the town’s charter, the town cannot legally function without a manager. Bosse, who is chief of the town’s Fire and Rescue Department, agreed to help until the Board of Selectmen decide what to do next.

Bosse accepted the offer and selectmen ratified it in a public vote Tuesday after being queried by former Selectman Wendy Sanborn, who sought clarification about when Bosse took over.

Selectmen noted that technically, Roy is still town manager, albeit on paid administrative leave, and Bosse is the acting town manager — fulfilling the town charter’s requirement to have someone serving as a functioning manager.

“I’m just trying to keep Poland moving, to do what’s necessary,” Bosse said, “I’m not looking to be town manager. I just want to be the fire chief.”

Commenting on Bosse’s report as acting town manager, Selectman Steve Robinson noted Bosse would be working on the beginnings of the new budget cycle and was working with the heads of town departments to determine what issues they can continue to address and what items will have to be held in abeyance.

Public Works Director Tom Learned reported that this year’s paving projects had been wrapped up by Oct. 4 with about $6,000 left in that account.

Learned also reported that Zebra Striping had completed work sealing the cracks on Everett and Torrey roads at a bid cost of a little more than $11,300 — within the $12,000 budgeted.

Learned noted, however, that Zebra Striping’s original bid of $14,380 would have done work on portions of Bailey and Hardscrabble roads, as well, and asked selectmen whether they would authorize using funds left over from the paving program to complete work on all four roads.

The board nixed the idea, agreeing to call a halt to the work with the two roads already completed.

Selectmen also authorized Learned to prepare a request for proposals for a new three-quarter-ton truck that will serve to transport men and materials to work sites and to be used to plow the parking lots and small roads about town.

Learned had reported that the existing 2005 pickup, with high mileage, was in poor shape and was not worth fixing. The capital reserve account has $50,000 earmarked for the replacement.

Selectmen also gave town forester Fred Huntress the go-ahead to contract with New England Forestry Consultants for property-line maintenance on the three largest parcels of town-owned land at a cost of $750 per mile and to conduct a timber sale for trees on the Hewey lot.

Huntress estimated his fees to be about $450 to oversee both projects and that the town should net about $8,000 once all is said and done.

The Conservation Commission has reviewed and supports Huntress’s recommendations.