Interim Police Chief Steve Holt can now drop the term “interim” from his title.

Mayor Ben McCrory and the Montevallo City Council appointed Holt as the city’s permanent police chief Monday, an announcement that caught Holt off guard.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” Holt said. “Montevallo is a great place and there’s a bunch of good folks here.”

Holt joined the department in 1995 as a patrol officer under former Police Chief Allen Needham. He was appointed interim police chief last November after the newly elected mayor and city council chose not to reappoint former Police Chief Kevin Peters.