Nick Upham, who has been working as a reserve police officer, was unanimously granted full-time status at the July 28 Boothbay Harbor selectmen's meeting.

The promotion was at the recommendation of Police Chief Robert Hasch.

“Nick does a great job,” Hasch said to the selectmen. “He is a good representative of this town, and he's practically full-time anyways.”

Reserve officers work 1,040 hours within a year, which works out to 20 hours per week. Full-time officers work double that.

“We're short a full-time officer, and the position has been budgeted for already,” Town Manager Tom Woodin said. He also said he supported Upham being promoted.

Upham is currently also the Boothbay Harbor Fire Chief, Harbor Master and Shellfish Warden.

Some concerns were voiced by the selectmen about the amount of work Upham is handling, but he said there was no cause for concern.

“As of right now, nothing changes,” Upham said. “When an emergency happens we all respond, so whether I'm there as fire chief or a police officer I'm still on the scene. If I'm on the Harbor, I'm close to shore and can get in my truck and go. I'm doing all this already.”

The selectmen voted 3-0 to support the appointment, with Wendy Wolf, Russ Hoffman, and chairman Denise Griffin in favor. Selectman Bill Hamblen and vice chairman Jay Warren were not in attendance.

The next regularly scheduled selectmen's meeting takes place on Monday, Aug. 11. Members of the public and welcome to attend.