BUCKFIELD — The Select Board announced it selected a new town manager, after a 90-minute executive session late Tuesday at the end of a marathon meeting.

The board directed interim Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz to negotiate the terms of a contract with the candidate, whose name will not be released until the contract is finalized.

The new town manager will replace Joe Roach, who stepped down in August to accept the town manager position in Rangeley.

Berkowitz, who arrived with more than 46 years of municipal government experience, has served as a steadying influence during a tumultuous few months when Buckfield struggled to finalize its 2020-21 fiscal year budget. Two referendums failed to resolve the issue, with voters twice rejecting proposed budgets for the town’s administrative services and the Zadoc Long Free Library.

Following a long process and with Berkowitz’s guidance, the board made some last-minute adjustments Tuesday night and finalized the budgets for both departments, making deep cuts to lower the account to last year’s level.

Berkowitz is still hoping to hire a public works foreman and a couple of plow drivers before the new town manager starts.

Buckfield Rescue Chief Chip Richardson provided the board with a three-month update on his department’s services. The department has received $61,710.39 in revenue for the past three months, despite being without a truck for the past 2½ weeks. The vehicle returned to service Tuesday morning and was promptly used for a call that day, Richardson said.

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