Ledyard — Town Councilor Fred Allyn III will be the next mayor of Ledyard, following a unanimous vote by town councilors Wednesday night.

He will take over for Ledyard's outgoing Mayor Michael Finkelstein, who accepted a job earlier this month as the first-ever police chief of the East Lyme Police Department.

Following the last report from Mayor Finkelstein, thanking town officials for the time he has spent working with them going back to his decades on the police force, Finkelstein joined the councilors in wishing Allyn well on his appointment.

"Your shoes will be mighty big to fill," Councilor Kevin Dombrowski said, speaking of Allyn's work on the Finance Committee.

Allyn will be sworn in during a ceremony at 10 a.m. May 1 in the recently renovated Town Council Chambers.

His departure for the mayor's office will cause a reshuffling of Town Council positions, with Councilor William Saums taking over leadership of the Finance Committee as the budget process winds down and Councilor Dombrowski also temporarily takes a seat on the committee.

Allyn's seat on the council will remain empty for the time being, as the Republican Town Committee is "not yet prepared to make a recommendation," Town Council Chairman Linda Davis said.

"The RTC has interviewed more than one outstanding candidate...we want to make sure we have the right people in the right seats," she said, adding that she did not expect the process to take long.

The Republican Town Committee will endorse a candidate for Allyn's seat, as the charter dictates an appointment be from the same party as the outgoing official, and then the Town Council members will vote to appoint someone to the vacant seat.

Allyn has said he will run for the remaining two years of Finkelstein's mayoral term in the November election. The appointed Town Council seat also will be up for election.

The Town Council also adopted the $55,135,180 budget Wednesday, with no changes after a public hearing April 17.

n.lynch@theday.com