Bissell has worked for the city of Northampton as assistant treasurer since 2009.
PALMER - A new treasurer-collector has been hired, Kristine A. Bissell, and she will officially start on Dec. 4.
Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard said Bissell, the current assistant treasurer in Northampton, was chosen from a field of four finalists; 15 people applied.
She will be paid $60,000 a year, he said.
Blanchard said Bissell also was the part-time treasurer in Goshen, where she lives, for nine years. He said he is eager to have her in the position.
"I'm pleased to have her join us in Palmer," Blanchard said.
As treasurer-collector, she will report to Finance Director John Kuzmiski, Blanchard said.
While Dec. 4 is her first official day, she was at the Town Building on Friday, learning the job.
Former treasurer-collector Melissa L. Zawadzki, who left in 2010 to take a finance director job in Easthampton, has been helping in the office and is assisting Bissell with the transition, Blanchard said.
Bissell received her treasurer's certification in 2010 from the Massachusetts Collectors and Treasurers Association. She has worked as assistant treasurer in Northampton since 2009.
Bissell said she was interested in the Palmer position because she thought it would be a "great job opportunity" for her.
The last treasurer-collector, Paul Nowicki, left the job in September after he had been placed on paid administrative leave over a personnel matter. Nowicki took over for Zawadzki in 2010.