ORANGE — The woman who has served as the town’s assistant collector for less than a month has been promoted to collector following a unanimous vote of the Selectboard this week.

Shana Smith’s first full day as assistant collector in Orange was Feb. 22 and she will begin her new position on Monday. She had previously worked as an assistant collector in Athol, where she grew up and still lives, since 2019.

“Being an assistant for the past five years, [collector] is ultimately the job that I’ve been shriving for and working toward,” she said in a phone interview on Thursday. “I just find tax collecting absolutely fascinating.”

Smith has trained with interim Collector Ryan Mailloux, who was appointed after Christina Boudreau stepped down from the role.

The Selectboard decided on Wednesday to offer the job to Smith after a second round of interviews with her and fellow candidate Holly Corrales-Tallant. Selectboard Vice Chair Pat Lussier read a letter from Nicole Bowers, a third candidate who removed her name from consideration due to the job posting’s requirement of an academic degree.

Smith told Selectboard members she loves working in Orange and wants to help the town get back on the right fiscal track.

“I really do like to get down into the nitty-gritty,” she said. “I really do adore what I do.”

Asked how she would deal with having to make difficult decisions, Smith said it simply comes with the territory.

“My job is to collect funds that are outstanding,” she said. “I make unpopular decisions every day.”

Smith mentioned she has managed bars and restaurants, and previously worked as an Athol Savings Bank supervisor.

After concluding their interview with Smith, Selectboard members deliberated about the two candidates. Selectboard Clerk Andrew Smith said he was leaning toward hiring Shana Smith but felt “a tripping point” could be the job posting’s requirement of an applicant having an associate’s degree in a relevant field, which the preferred candidate does not have. The posting makes no reference to having a degree equivalent.

Chair Tom Smith said he is confident Shana Smith could step into the collector role without an issue. He and new member Julie Davis said that, with enough experience, a degree is not necessary.

Davis said she does not see the point of placing “emphasis on a piece of paper that hangs on a wall,” mentioning that she has a college degree but does not use it in her professional life. She said requiring a candidate to have obtained one is “ridiculously unfair and a little classist,” especially considering Shana Smith expressed a desire to further learn.

Similarly, Town Administrator Matt Fortier chimed in to say the state’s hiring process is moving away from degree requirements.

Selectboard member Jane Peirce said she feels experience is just as valuable as an academic degree.

“I would consider it the height of insanity if we were to reject a highly qualified candidate because we forgot to put in there ‘or equivalent,’ because that’s really what it amounts to,” she said. “[Shana Smith has] got five years of experience in the job and we should have said ‘or equivalent.’”

Lussier expressed regret over Bowers’ decision to remove her name from consideration due to not having a degree, if it is not truly required. But Tom Smith said Bowers did not have to do that and could have pursued the position anyway.

Peirce and Tom Smith expressed an interest in offering the soon-to-be-vacant assistant collector job to Corrales-Tallant, who Tom Smith said seems like “a very knowledgeable, smart lady.” The job must be posted internally before it is posted publicly.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.