By ANN S. KIM

Staff Writer

The city of Odessa, Texas, is ready to welcome Portland Police Chief Tim Burton as their new top cop this summer.

Burton said he accepted Odessa's conditional job offer late Thursday. He said he still needs to pass a medical exam, drug test and background check before any decision becomes final.

Burton said his family is attracted to the climate of the Southwest and that the Odessa job represents a new policing challenge. Burton has led Portland's department since November 2005. A Portland native, he joined the department as a patrolman in 1982.

"It's an exciting opportunity, certainly one that I've been taking very seriously and look forward to," he said.

The new job would represent a slightly larger department in a bigger city. Odessa, which is between Dallas and El Paso, has a department with 177 sworn officers and a population of about 100,000. Portland has 160 sworn officers and a population of 64,000.

Two years ago, Burton reached the 25-year mark, which allows him to retire from Portland with a pension equivalent to roughly half his average salary for the previous three years. The percentage increases for each year beyond 25.

Burton earns $91,500 a year in Portland. The Odessa job has a starting salary of $105,000, he said.

While Burton said it's premature to talk about his last day in Portland, Andrea Goodson, Odessa's public information coordinator, said her city is expecting him to start by Aug. 31. She said it's expected that Burton will fulfill the conditions of the offer without any trouble, given his current position in law enforcement.

"We are still on board for Mr. Burton to become a Texan on August 31st," she said.

In their search, Odessa officials were trying to find a chief to lead the department in the aftermath of the deaths of three officers killed in September. Authorities say a man opened fire on them with a shotgun when they were responding to a domestic disturbance. An interim chief has been leading Odessa's department since the previous one retired early this year.

Odessa officials were in Maine last month to evaluate Burton on his home turf.

In an interview last week, Odessa City Manager Richard Morton said he was impressed by the professionalism of Portland's department, Burton's intelligence and how highly others spoke of him.

"He is accessible and I think the chief definitely needs to be accessible to citizens and the different interest groups we serve," Morton said.

Portland Mayor Edward Suslovic said Burton has contributed to the city and the department throughout his career. He credited Burton for creating directed patrols to tackle specific issues, such as drugs or adherence to bail conditions. The mayor also praised Burton for a soft-spoken and effective leadership style and noted he was always in uniform on the job, which Suslovic saw as symbolic of the solidarity he created between patrol officers and the command staff.

Burton's appointment as chief was not without controversy.

Some saw Burton, then deputy chief of the patrol division, as a needed change for a department that had been under Michael Chitwood for 17 years. Chitwood, who earned the nickname "Media Mike" with his outsize personality and penchant for press conferences, left much of the daily operations to his subordinates.

But others questioned why Burton, who is white, was hired over a black candidate from Florida. Capt. Anthony Holloway of Clearwater, Fla., was also seen as someone with experience in a community with more significant crime problems. Some also hoped for an outside candidate.

It's not clear who would lead the department if Burton leaves. Suslovic said those logistics and a search for a replacement are the responsibility of the city manager.

City spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said it's premature to discuss what would happen if Burton resigns.

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at:

akim@pressherald.com