NEWPORT — The Selectboard voted, 5-0, at its meeting Monday night to accept the resignation of Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg.

Rieseberg was hired in 2016, about a year after he resigned the same position in Hartford, where he had served for 19 years.

Selectboard Chairman Barry Connell said Rieseberg’s employment ended Monday, but he will be paid through the remainder of the year. His current contract was set to expire Dec. 31.

Finance Director Paul Brown was named interim manager, a position he held prior to Rieseberg’s hiring when former Town Manager Shane O’Keefe resigned in September 2016, a little more than a year after he was hired. Brown also served as town manager, in both a interim and permanent capacity, between 2011 and 2015 after Dan O’Neill, who was town manager for nearly 23 years, retired in early 2011.

Connell said at Monday’s meeting that the “separation from employment agreement” with Rieseberg, who did not attend the meeting, will be made public, but he did not offer any details Monday. Rieseberg’s salary was $146,154.

Selectboard member Jim Burroughs said the board accepts the resignation “with regret,” and he praised Rieseberg for his work on behalf of Newport, including securing a number of grants through his “hard work and diligence. So we thank him for that.”

Attempts to reach Rieseberg on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The board also announced that it would begin immediately forming a search committee to find a new town manager. In addition to two Selectboard members, Brown, two other town employees and a Chamber of Commerce member, the committee will have three citizens. Brown noted the committee’s work will be on a fast track and those interested in serving will be expected to attend meetings over the next three months.

Rieseberg, 66, was hired as interim town manager in October 2016 and was made permanent town manager in December of that year. Before Hartford, Rieseberg worked in the New Hampshire communities of Hampton, Jaffrey, Durham and Epping.

Rieseberg’s tenure has been marked with some public controversy in recent months. He has battled with the school district over the leasing of the bus barn at the town public works garage and the planned construction of a new natural science center for the Sugar River Valley Regional Tech Center.

Last month, the town was sued by the developer of a 42-unit workforce housing project that is under construction on Spring Street over the water and sewer connection fees of $96,000. Developer Jack Franks with Avanru Developers of Walpole, N.H., has blamed Rieseberg for letting the issue come to litigation. Franks wants the fees lowered to $15,000, similar to other communities where he has done developments. A final state approval of $420,000 in InvestNH funds the town is slated to receive for the project is on hold pending the litigation.

Connell said at the Monday’s meeting, the town had yet to see the suit. However, the board has instructed its attorney to work with Avanru’s attorney to seek a solution.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.