The Saco City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to appoint Kevin Sutherland as city administrator.

Sutherland, who is currently chief of staff in Ithaca, New York, replaces longtime City Administrator Richard Michaud, who resigned earlier this year to care for his wife.

After Michaud’s resignation, the city council hired labor consultant Michael Wing to assist with a search for a new city administrator. Sutherland was chosen after the council interviewed several candidates.

Under the terms of his 3-year contract in Saco, Sutherland will be paid $110,000 annually. That will be increased to $115,000 after six months and to $120,000 after a year. The city will reimburse Sutherland for up to $2,500 for relocation costs.

Sutherland will begin his job in Saco on Sept. 21.

“I look forward to hitting the ground running,” he said. “I can’t wait to meet everyone, find out what the issues are and figure out how to help Saco continue to move forward.”

While working as chief of staff in Ithaca, Sutherland developed a $65 million annual budget and assisted in the management of 10 city departments. He also previously served as budget coordinator for Tompkins County administration and oversaw the development of a $170 million annual budget.

Sutherland, 32, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, received a master of science in public administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in 2009. For the past year, he has traveled every weekend to Boston to see his wife, who moved there to work after completing her Ph.D. at Cornell. He will move to Saco as required by his employment contract.

“I”m really excited to make the move,” he said. “I’ve always had my heart set on moving back to the coast. I can’t think of a better place than the coast of Maine.”