Marian Anderson of Boothbay said she is looking forward to being Wiscasset’s town manager for at least the next three years. That’s the length of her contract, with a starting annual pay of $78,000.

Selectmen approved Anderson’s hire on July 15. The board is delighted to get her for the job, Chairman Pam Dunning said. Richmond’s town manager since 2009, Anderson manages to walk the fine line of being hands-on without micromanaging, Dunning said during Tuesday night’s board meeting and in an interview.

“I am very excited to be here,” Anderson said.

“It’s a great community, and a community experiencing a lot of transition,” she said in an interview before the meeting.

Anderson, 55, will have a shorter commute to work when she starts her new job on August 18. The drive to Richmond was 19 miles from home in Boothbay. Wiscasset is nine miles from home.

“Marian brings a wealth of municipal experience as a town manager, assessor and code enforcement officer to Wiscasset from her previous positions in Richmond, Boothbay, Waterville, Gardiner and Bar Harbor,” Wiscasset Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish states in a July 15 press release.

Anderson graduated from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service and Municipal Leadership and is a certified assessor, code enforcement officer and plumbing inspector. She’s a trustee on the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust and has served on both the Boothbay Region Community Resource Board and the Lincoln County Animal Shelter’s board, the release states.

The certifications were among Anderson’s strengths as a candidate, along with her professional manner and her familiarity with the Wiscasset area, Dunning said.

Anderson said Richmond selectmen have been supportive of her job-seeking, even writing reference letters for her; she’s fortunate to be leaving one great community for another, she said.

“I think she’ll do a great job for Wiscasset,” said Stuart Smith, selectman in Edgecomb where Anderson has served in code enforcement.

“I always respected Marian and always thought she was a consummate professional,” Smith said.

Gerrish said including Anderson in his emails while he’s still interim manager will help with the transition. He has served in the temp slot since February, when Laurie Smith switched from being Wiscasset’s town manager to Kennebunkport’s.