FARMINGTON – A former New Sharon town clerk pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge and was ordered to repay $2,000 in restitution to that town.

Town selectmen are satisfied with the agreement and believe it was a bookkeeping error and not intentionally done.

Ellen Grant, 58, of New Sharon entered the plea Jan. 29, in a deferred disposition. If she doesn’t commit any crimes during the nine-month deferral period, she’ll be allowed to withdraw her guilty plea, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson said.

Grant was indicted last year on a felony charge of theft after she was accused of stealing more than $4,000 from the town between Jan. 1, 2002, and March 5, 2005.

She had served New Sharon for 12 years as town clerk and tax collector and didn’t seek re-election in March 2005. During the 2002-03 annual audit, some problems were discovered and a forensic audit was conducted.

It was discovered that the town had overpaid Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and that money was returned to the town, Robinson said. So the amount of restitution was lowered to about $2,000.

“We took the most favorable reading of the financial books of the town and thought that gets pretty close to restoring the town as a whole,” Robinson said.

“We’re satisfied with it,” New Sharon selectmen’s Chairman Jim Smith said Thursday. “I really don’t think she deliberately took any town money. It was just a bookkeeping error. That’s the way we feel. We’re hoping she can get out of this without any harm to her reputation. We all like Ellen.”

Grant and her lawyer, Paul Sumberg were not available for comment.