MARION — The Board of Selectmen voted to hire Susan Laak of Sandwich as the new Treasurer-Collector for Marion, if the board can successfully complete contract negotiations with her. 

The decision came at a Feb. 8 meeting where the Board met to interview the two finalists for the position. 

Laak is currently serving as the Treasurer-Collector in Eastham, where she has been working for a year. Though her education is in information technology and she worked briefly in software, most of her work experience has been with municipal governments. She served as treasurer of the Barnstable Fire Department for six years, and before that held a variety of other municipal positions. 

Laak said that she first became of aware of Marion when her daughter played ice hockey at Tabor Academy’s ice rink. The position in Marion appealed to her because “it’s a similar size to Eastham, and I enjoy the tax collection aspect of the job, even though it is new to me.” 

She also cited the commute from Sandwich to Eastham, which is normally around 45 minutes and can balloon to an hour and fifteen minutes or more in the summer. 

The other finalist for the position was Katherine Milligan, also of Sandwich. Milligan has worked in municipal governments for sixteen years. 

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to begin contract negotiations with Laak.