The Tisbury police chief said Monday that he will retire late this year, after three years on the job.

In a letter to the select board, Mark Saloio said he will leave Nov. 5, at the end of his three-year contract.

“I intend on retiring from law enforcement . . . I have determined that now is an appropriate time to transition to new opportunities,” Chief Saloio wrote in a May 17 letter addressed to town administrator John (Jay) Grande and the three select board members.

In his letter Mr. Saloio cited accomplishments during his tenure, including taking steps to modernize internal systems and improve the culture. “Among all these accomplishments, we are most proud of the fact that we are preparing to achieve the long-anticipated goal of state accreditation at the end of this month. Additionally, staffing within our agency has been stabilized, with very little turnover,” the chief wrote.

The Tisbury police department has suffered from deeply entrenched internal problems for many years, and has been the subject of lawsuits and allegations of discrimination and harassment. Turnover has been frequent in the top ranks of the department.

Mr. Saloio took the job in November 2018, following the retirement of chief Daniel Hanavan. He was the lone candidate for the job, and was formerly an administrative lieutenant in the Sturbridge police department, where he had worked for 25 years. At the time he emphasized a long-term commitment to the town.

“I want to finish my career here, and I want to remain here,” Mr. Saloio said.

His tenure has been rocky at times.

Last year the town settled a federal lawsuit with former police Lieut. Eerik Meisner for $400,000. Mr. Meisner left the department in 2019 after he had been demoted from lieutenant to sergeant. The former lieutenant had alleged breach of contract, civil rights violations and wrongful termination.

In exchange for the settlement, Mr. Meisner agreed to drop all pending legal claims, and to never seek future employment with the town.

Last month select board members voted to begin negotiating with Chief Saloio on the renewal of his contract, which included an automatic renewal clause by May 3 if the town took no action.

It was unclear whether the select board had issues with the chief or was simply taking steps under the terms of the contract.

Under those terms, the town and the chief were due to agree on terms for a new contract by June 30.

Reached by telephone Monday, Chief Saloio said only that he felt it was the right time, and that he wanted to give the town plenty of time to plan for his replacement.

“It’s an appropriate time to transition to something new,” he said. “But we still have a lot of work to do, and high season is coming.”