Lincoln County's emergency management director announced his resignation during the June 18 County Commissioners' meeting at the Courthouse.

Tim Pellerin has accepted the position of fire chief for the town of Rangeley. He will no longer serve as Whitefield's fire chief.

After serving the county for seven and a half years, Pellerin's resignation is effective July 6.

"I think that's all I have for you," he said to commissioners, after reviewing training, flood damage from the last rainstorm and equipment reports. Reminded by Commissioner Lynn Orne there was one more agenda item he needed to address, Pellerin drew out an official letter of resignation, almost as if it was an afterthought.

Commissioner Sheridan Bond moved that the board accept the resignation "with deep regret and with lots of admiration for his service to the county."

Board members laughed when Orne said "no" in response to Pellerin's letter, but unanimously approved Bond's motion to accept the resignation.

"We do feel you have moved the department a long way in a not-too-long period of time," Commissioner William Blodgett said.

Pellerin wrote in his letter of retirement that he did not come to the decision lightly, and his experience has been one of abundant personal and professional growth.

County officials have spoken favorably of Pellerin's accomplishments for the county.

"He really brought Lincoln County to the forefront statewide," Bond said, adding that through Pellerin's efforts, county departments cooperated in a way that they hadn't before.

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, significant changes to EMA/Communications were implemented and Bond said Pellerin led this process.

Pellerin was put on paid administrative leave once in 2010 and returned to his post after a brief period, though no explanation was provided at the time.

He refuses to take all of the credit for the changes made in his department since he was first employed in 2005. During his tenure, the department has upgraded the communication system and has developed a hazmat (hazardous materials) team and an incident command team.

His work has also included assisting fire departments throughout the county and beyond its borders to obtain extensive training, as well as an attempt to unify the county EMS through joint incident command trainings.

His department helped the county reconstruct disaster response plans. The county has had seven declared disasters, all of which were weather related.

"I don't think I accomplished anything," Pellerin said. "But I think we accomplished a lot." Pellerin said the upgrades, trainings and other improvements made over the past several years have come about by way of a team effort.

As emergency manager director, he is paid $46,609.89 per year; as communications director, he is paid $17,478.71 per year. Though he is eligible to retire, Pellerin will continue to pay into his retirement as he works as the Rangeley fire chief. The last Rangeley fire chief was paid $42,400 per year, Rangeley town officials said.

He started his career in emergency services as a firefighter on the Brunswick Fire Department. Pellerin then worked on the Portland Fire Department until 2001, when he joined the Westbrook Fire Department as the Deputy Fire Chief. In 2005, Pellerin left Westbrook to work for Lincoln County.

Commissioners have not yet decided who will be the interim EMA/Communications director, according to Pellerin. They still have one more meeting, on Tuesday, July 3, before his resignation takes effect.