A one-time Howard prosecutor who has worked for the Howard County Office of Law for nearly two decades is incoming Howard State's Attorney Timothy J. McCrone's pick to fill a key deputy state's attorney's slot.

F. Todd Taylor has accepted the deputy's job and likely will start in the office in a month - after taking time to finish his work with the county law office and to end his private civil practice.

"I was honored that he asked me to do it, and I accepted it because I want to work with Tim," Taylor said Friday. "I think it's going to be a great place to work - again."

Taylor will be one of two deputies, and while the details of their respective roles have not been finalized, Taylor, 51, likely will take more of an operational role - much like that of former Deputy State's Attorney I. Matthew Campbell, who resigned last month.

Deputy State's Attorney Dario Broccolino, who will stay on after McCrone is sworn in Jan. 6, handles the administrative functions of the office.

Taylor is "an old, dear, trusted friend that has a lifetime of experience in law enforcement," McCrone said. "He's also known for being an aggressive prosecutor and someone whose courtroom skills and demeanor are really first-rate."

Taylor, who lives in Ellicott City and can trace his family through five generations in Howard County, said his first stint as a prosecutor - from 1979 to 1983 - ended when his caseload made him feel "burned out," and led him to question his effectiveness.

He has worked as an assistant county attorney since, paring his work there from full time to part time in the early 1990s. He also has built a civil practice that handles mainly family law cases.

For about the past decade he has served as the legal adviser to the Police Department through the Office of Law.

There, he and McCrone often faced each other in court: McCrone, who was in private practice, represented the police union and officers facing disciplinary action while Taylor represented the department.

Howard Police Chief Wayne Livesay said concerns that his department and the prosecutor's office now will be too closely allied, given McCrone and Taylor's past work with the department, are unfounded.

"I think it's a good partnership," he said. " ... It's plain professional."

He said he has found Taylor, who handles the county's forfeiture and red-light-camera cases as well, to be an "extremely competent" lawyer who always made himself available to answer legal questions "24 hours a day, seven days a week."

"I really think he has the county's interests at heart, and I think that's really important," Livesay said. "He's not just here for a job."