Bal Harbour has appointed a familiar face as an interim village manager, while the search is on for a permanent one.

The village council appointed Jay Smith as interim village manager at its regular meeting last week. Smith has been serving as director of community outreach for the village, so he will work in both positions.

He replaces former Village Manager Alfred Treppeda, who is on vacation but is scheduled to retire in April. He has said that he doesn’t intend on returning from vacation.

Merrett Stierheim, the administrator-for-hire, was selected to find a new manager for Bal Harbour. Currently, the village is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged misspending of money seized from drug-dealers and money-launderers.

However, Smith said he is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I am excited for the opportunity, though I know that I have very big shoes to fill with Alfred’s departure,” he wrote in an email. “I know that I can count on help from our mayor and village council, our village staff, and the residents of Bal Harbour. I am very gratified by the support that I have received in the past few months.”

Smith has been working for the village since 1985 in the police department. In 2009, he was hired as the director of community outreach.

Mayor Jean Rosenfield said she is confident that Smith will do a great job.

“He is a very intelligent young man and highly organized,” Rosenfield said in a phone interview. “We are looking forward to him doing a great job.”

There is no word on how long the search will take, but Smith added that it could take six to twelve more weeks until a new manager is selected.

“Bal Harbour has always provided a quality environment to our residents, businesses and visitors,” he said. “The transitions between village managers will hopefully be seamless and will not change the services supplied by the village’s government.”

Smith said he chose not to consider the village manager position permanently.