NEWPORT — The Selectboard has unanimously approved the hiring of Kyle Harris, borough administrator in Garwood, N.J., as Newport’s next town manager.

The board ratified a contract with Harris at its meeting Monday night and announced that Harris will begin work on Feb. 26.

“We are very excited,” Selectboard member Jim Burroughs said.

Harris was an “excellent choice” by the town manager search committee, board member Jeff Kessler said.

Harris, who will live in Newport, has worked in municipal government and higher education for more than 20 years and has a master’s degree in business administration from Monmouth University in New Jersey.

Interim Town Manager Paul Brown said Harris’ contract runs through June 2027 and his salary is $130,000 a year, plus a $5,000 residency stipend.

In a phone interview from his office in Garwood, Harris, 44, said he found Newport’s “sense of community very appealing” when he visited during a holiday event, Twas Just Before Christmas, in early December.

“I want to hit the ground running on the 26th, meet with staff and hope to have a positive influence on the town,” Harris said, adding that living and working in an area with a lot of outdoor opportunities for hiking and skiing was another factor in his decision to seek the Newport position.

During the selection process, Burroughs visited Garwood and spoke to government officials and residents of the town of about 5,000 in Northern New Jersey about Harris.

“A very important part of the process when you choose a municipal leader or community leader is proper due diligence to go and see where they come from, talk to their co-workers, talk to the community where they are coming from to make sure you know what you are buying,” said Burroughs, who was acting chairman at Monday’s Selectboard meeting. “Is it a warm body or is it a person who will come into the community and do a job and excel and lead us into the future.

“We went into this process with that mindset; that we wanted someone who could step in and lead us into the future and we are very excited to have Kyle join us at the end of the month.”

Selectboard Chairman Barry Connell said via Zoom that he was pleased Harris, who visited Newport on his own in December a week before meeting with the Selectboard, decided to come to Newport as he had other offers.

On Tuesday, Connell said Harris not only has a lot of experience but called him a “good listener.”

“He will make judgments and be up front with people on why he is making those judgments,” Connell said. “Not only does he have a lot of the qualities needed in a town manager but he works effectively with others and is a tireless worker.”

According to a biography provided by Harris, he started working at a golf course while in high school and went on to earn a degree in turf grass science from Penn State University. During college, he worked at numerous golf courses and completed an internship with the Boston Red Sox’s ground crew at Fenway Park.

As an employee at Monmouth, Harris earned his master’s, and beginning in 2017, he spent four years as director of public works for Old Bridge Township, N.J. before accepting the job in Garwood. Harris also has completed several certificate programs at Rutgers University, including public works management, municipal recycling, municipal clerk program and public purchasing.

Harris succeeds Hunter Rieseberg, a former Hartford town manager who was hired in Newport in 2016 and resigned in July, though he was paid through the end of 2023. A search committee was formed shortly after Rieseberg left and the committee spent several months reviewing applications before choosing four applicants for interviews. One applicant withdrew before the interviews.

Brown has served as interim town manager, a role he has accepted in the past, and was praised by the board and members of the public Monday for his willingness to take on additional work to help the town.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.