MONMOUTH — Police Chief Robert Annese has resigned.

After three years on the job, the veteran police officer submitted a letter to selectmen and Town Manager Curt Lunt on Wednesday stating that he had grown tired of ongoing controversies about the department. These include a battle over the police budget that took five separate town votes to finally pass, and a complaint filed with the state Attorney General’s office.

“It was the stress of the job,” Selectman Donald Ludewig said. “He came, read his letter and answered our questions.”

Efforts by the Sun Journal to reach Annese were unsuccessful Friday.

Annese told selectmen that he plans to continue in the position until Feb. 6, in an effort to guide the small town department through an officer recertification effort, Ludewig said. Annese had been on medical leave from the department for much of December, returning Dec. 28.

Annese was hired in 2006 after retiring from the Brunswick Police Department.

In Monmouth, he pledged to “provide the citizens of Monmouth with competent, efficient and professional police services,” according to the town’s Web site.

His tenure proved controversial.

Annese seemed to grow increasingly bothered by criticism in local newspapers and on the Internet, Ludewig said.

This year, the police budget was slashed several times until it passed with a $10,000 cut over the previous year. The process prevented the town from setting its tax rate and sending its bills.

Meanwhile, the complaint to the state arose.

Annese reportedly tried to use his authority as an officer to investigate who had rented a post office box, where responses to a community newspaper poll about the department had been collected. Planning Board member Ray Simond, who had started the poll and rented the box, complained to the state that Annese had abused his power to seek him out.

Selectmen plan to meet Wednesday night to discuss their next step with the department. It could include searching for a new chief or looking for alternatives, such as a sharing arrangement with the town of Winthrop.

“There is a lot of collaboration between our towns,” Ludewig said, citing current arrangements for emergency dispatching and mutual aid between their fire departments. Such a decision would be up to the entire Board of Selectmen.

“We need to talk about what we’re going to do,” Ludewig said.

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