MELROSE – Community members can now complete a paper version of the Ideal Candidate Survey for the next Melrose police chief in-person at the Melrose Public Library and the Mayor’s Office during business hours.

The city announced in March that Police Chief Mike Lyle will reach the mandatory retirement age of 65 this November. He has worked as a Melrose Police Officer for 35 years. Massachusetts state law requires police officers, firefighters and corrections officers to retire at age 65.

As the city of Melrose has begins the search for its new police chief with the help of a municipal recruiting consultant, Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI), Mayor Paul Brodeur’s office is seeking community input to help develop an “Ideal Candidate Profile.”

The Mayor’s Office is located on the second floor of City Hall, 562 Main St., and is open Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. through 4 p.m., and Friday from 8:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.

The Melrose Public Library, 69 West Emerson St., is open Monday–Thursday from 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday from 2-5 p.m.

Community members can also take the survey by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/r/5CZB7FH, and MRI will use the community’s responses to this survey as they develop the Ideal Candidate Profile. The survey will close on Sunday, May 15 at midnight.

MRI will be seeking input from community members, the Melrose Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor’s DEI Task Force, religious leaders and other key stakeholders as part of the comprehensive recruitment process.

Lyle has served as Melrose’s police chief for the past 15 years. The

Melrose High School graduate began his career with the city of Melrose as a police officer in 1986 before moving up in the ranks and serving as a police traffic officer, a police sergeant, and a police lieutenant before finally serving as the chief of the Melrose Police Department.