PARIS — Newly appointed Town Manager Amy Bernard said Wednesday that she is looking forward to her responsibilities.

“New town, new challenges,” the 33-year-old Rumford resident said in a telephone interview from her town manager’s office in Wayne on Wednesday afternoon.

The Board of Selectmen unanimously appointed Bernard at its meeting Tuesday night. She and the board signed a two-year contract that will give her a starting salary of $53,000. Her salary will be increased to $55,000 on July 1, 2013, after a satisfactory review. The contract also provides health insurance, dental, vacation, sick time, retirement and Maine State Retirement.

Bernard was born and grew up in Rumford and will commute to Paris instead of relocating, she said.

Bernard will begin part time on Dec. 3 and be full time once she completes her work in Wayne on Dec. 17. She has served Wayne as town manager for the past four years. The town of almost 1,200 residents, is about 15 miles west Augusta.

In their decision to select her out of 53 other applicants from across the country, Chairman Sam Elliot said, “She stood apart from the others.”

Bernard has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Maine and completed courses toward a master’s in planning and development.

She held internships with town officials in Windham, N.H., and conducted research for the River Valley Growth Council in Rumford. She also worked as an intern for the town of Barre, Vt.

She also served on the SAD 43 board and has worked as a volunteer for several other organizations.

A public reception will be held for her from 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 26 at the Paris municipal building.

ldixon@sunjournal.com