Capt. Buddy Williams has been appointed interim police chief in the wake of the resignation of Nolan McLeod, who is leaving today to take a position as police chief of Auburndale. The Live Oak City Council made Williams’ appointment official Tuesday night. He will be sworn in today at 1 p.m. at City Hall and will serve until a permanent replacement for McLeod can be selected.

“I’m extremely happy about it,” Williams said Thursday. “I’m ready and willing to take on the responsibility.

At least one city councilman wants Williams to crack down on speeders during his tenure. “People who start work at 8:30 are leaving the house at 8:10 and coming through town at speeds that aren’t safe,” Councilman Don Boyette said Thursday. “We need more enforcement and stricter enforcement.”

Williams said he plans to do a breakdown of police activity in Live Oak and present it at the January meeting of the city council’s Police Committee. “The council needs to know what’s going on,” Williams said. “We’re going to have open lines of communication.” Williams said his statement was not meant to imply that communication between the council and the police chief had been poor in the past.

The city will wait until Jan. 1 to advertise the chief position. But at least two city council members — Bennie Thomas and John Hale — have said they prefer to hire locally.