WINDHAM — The town will interview for a fourth time in an effort to find a permanent town manager, Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish said last week, and he plans to leave his position before that takes place.

Windham has been searching for a new town manager since October 2018 when then-Town Manager Tony Plante left with a $175,000 severance package amid turmoil on the council about his job performance. Plante was replaced on an interim basis by Gerrish, and the Town Council had originally expected to appoint a permanent manager in January of this year.

Windham will begin advertising the position again in January because, Gerrish said, “this isn’t a good time of the year to advertise with the holidays.”

Gerrish plans to stay on in Windham through December. “I’ll work with the council on bringing in another interim. We’re working on that right now,” he said.

Three previous searches have yet to yield a permanent manager. In the first search, no suitable candidate was found. In the second, the finalist turned down the council’s offer in favor of a city manager position in Washington state. In the third, the finalist accepted a town manager position in Massachusetts.