Morro Bay’s chief of police will step down in mid-April in order to join the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department as undersheriff.

Chief Tim Olivas, who’s headed the Morro Bay force since April 2010, confirmed to New Times he’s taking the top spot, which is second only to Sheriff Ian Parkinson.

After graduating from Cal Poly, Olivas served 14 years with the California Department of Fish & Game, where, as captain, he was eventually responsible for three separate command posts from the Oregon border south to Monterey.

As undersheriff, he will be responsible for the department’s custody operations, according to interim department spokesman Cmdr. Aaron Nix. He will begin with a base salary of $140,244.

The Morro Bay City Council is scheduled to hold a special meeting on March 8 to decide whether to authorize city staff to hire a consultant to assist in the recruitment process for a new police chief.

Olivas will replace current undersheriff Martin Basti, who is retiring after being with the department since 1979. Basti agreed in 2010 to stay on with the department during Parkinson’s first year of transition. Basti made $167,000 a year.

In a statement to media, Parkinson called Olivas “a trustworthy, forward-looking leader who shares my views.”