The Richmond Hill City Council could choose a new police chief as early as Tuesday, according to City Manager Chris Lovell.

Current Police Chief Billy Reynolds, who has been with the department 33 years — 31 of them as chief — was elected probate court judge and must step down by the end of the year.

The search began July 1 and resulted in 20 applications. The field was narrowed to eight after a review of the résumés and each candidate was interviewed. There are now five finalists, two of whom are current members of the Richmond Hill Police Department and one who works for the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office.

Georgia law requires municipalities to make public the names of applicants when the list of potential appointees is reduced to three. The city could potentially avoid that step if the council picks someone from the remaining five. The council’s regular meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.

Mayor Harold Fowler said in June that he hoped to be done with the process by Dec. 1. The city advertised the position with a starting salary of $66,000.

The RHPD was established in 1977 with a police chief and one officer. Today, it has 32 officers and eight administrative staff and consists of five divisions: uniformed services, criminal investigation, K-9, code enforcement and administrative services.