DIXFIELD – Thomas F. Richmond brings decades of municipal experience to his new position as Dixfield town manager.

The Livermore native began his duties bright and early Monday morning.

“I love town management and being involved in town government, with roads and budgets and town meetings,” said Richmond, 62, a graduate of Livermore Falls High School. “It was a matter of finding a town the right size.”

Richmond and his wife, Dolly, live in Bass Harbor.

He worked for International Paper for 23 years and as a tax evaluator before going into town management. During the past two decades, he has managed Greene, Tremont, Carmel and Steuben.

He said he grew up in Livermore attending town meetings with neighbors, then became a Livermore firefighter, then chief, emergency management director and selectman.

He plans to live with a son in Livermore during the week, returning to Bass Harbor on weekends. His wife is a full-time public health nurse there.

He spent most of Monday morning being shown around the town by John Madigan, half-time Dixfield town manager, who will return to his full-time job managing neighboring Mexico next week. Richmond checked out roads damaged during the most recent storm and reviewed the town’s proposed budget figures in preparation for the May 31 town meeting.

Richmond likes small towns where there is a lot of personal contact with residents.

“This is a perfect match,” he said of Dixfield and its 2,500 population. “I have an open-door policy.”

He said sometimes, just having a conversation with someone who may be experiencing some kind of problem can often diffuse a more serious disagreement. That’s something he likes about small towns.

When he’s not managing a town, he likes to hike and fly fish, particularly in Labrador where he has visited for the past four years.

“I like to think of myself as a people-person. If you do a good job, people are appreciative,” he said.

Besides his son, he and his wife have an adult daughter living in Boston.

Richmond replaces Jeff Jacobson, who left in January to return to his home state of Minnesota for a similar administrative position.