MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The top cop in Minneapolis says he will not seek another term. Tim Dolan, who has been chief of the Minneapolis Police Department since 2006, has notified Mayor R.T. Rybak that he will retire later this year.

In a letter to the mayor, Dolan said he feels that it’s time to move on to the next stage of his life.

“I have lived and/or worked in the City of Minneapolis my entire life,” Dolan said in the letter. “Every day that I put on the uniform, I consider myself fortunate and honored to work with the finest team I have known.”

Dolan has been with the city police department since 1983 after working in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy. He said he’ll continue his duties as chief until he retires later this year.

Mayor Rybak said the city is dramatically safer, thanks to Dolan’s leadership.

“Tim Dolan stepped in as chief in the middle of a public-safety crisis and immediately began to spearhead a significant, multi-year decrease in crime,” Rybak said in a statement. “(Dolan) deserves our deep thanks and gratitude for his years of exemplary public service and for making Minneapolis a much safer, stronger city.”

Rybak says there will be news of Dolan’s replacement in short order.

“I’ll have something to say about that very soon,”  Rybak said, without elaborating.

Dolan, who’s currently at a meeting in Washington D.C., says he’ll elaborate on his decision and future plans with the media at a later time.