Marion Police Chief Lincoln Miller will be retiring at the end of the year, he announced at Tuesday night’s selectmen meeting.

“I’m proud of my time here but it’s time for a change,” Miller said. “Change is good not only for myself, but for the department. It’s definitely time and I appreciate everything every one has done over the years.”

Miller has been the police chief for 18 years.

“It’s been a privilege to have you,” Selectman Steve Gonsalves said.

Select Chair Jody Dickerson, who attended the Police Academy with Miller, said the town would miss him.

“You’re going to be a tough person to replace. It doesn’t matter who we find,” Dickerson said. “It’s going to be tough.”

Miller thanked the selectmen and the various town boards he’s worked with over the years.

“I know when I call up and ask for something from a department head, it happens right away,” he said. “I’ve had supportive boards for my eighteen years as a police chief.”

He also acknowledged the hard work he’s had from his fellow officers.

“It’s everybody [that makes the department great]. It’s the members of the department who work day in and day out,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better team.”

In other news:

The Marion Police Department is participating in a program to help people with addiction problems, Miller said.

Miller told the Board of Selectmen about a program the department has been involved with that gets overdose victims into treatment beds within 24 hours after their release from the hospital.

“We offer the individual and their family members support and services,” Miller said. “It’s been working very well. It’s a very highly thought of system.”

The program was created in response to the opiate epidemic currently hitting the country.

“No community is immune from it,” Miller said.