Irwin officials had about two dozen candidates who wanted to be the borough's next manager, but they opted to hire the assistant manager who has served in that role since December.

Irwin Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to hire Valerie Morton, 36, of Irwin to replace Mary Benko as borough manager, effective Sept. 2. Morton will receive an annual salary of $47,500 in her new role.

It will be the second raise that Morton has received this year; her pay was bumped from $32,000 to $35,000 when Benko announced her retirement in April.

Council President John Cassandro said after the meeting that Morton “has been doing a tremendous job” in her role as assistant manager.

Councilman Mike Yunn, a member of the personnel committee, said Morton has gained knowledge about the borough while serving as assistant manager and “has good ideas for the borough.”

Yunn said the committee sifted through about two dozen resumes and interviewed about a half-dozen candidates for the manager's job.

Morton is replacing a manager who has served in that role for 20 years and has been the borough secretary for 11 years.

When Morton was hired in December, she replaced a secretary, Connie Serman, who retired. Cassandro said at the time that they were making the hire with the expectation that Benko would be retiring in 2017 and they would have to replace her.

“I like being part of the community. I love being involved,” Morton said of the role she will be assuming in September.

“I like seeing things and making it better,” Morton added.

Morton, who has experience in operations management, is a Norwin High School graduate and a Robert Morris University graduate with a degree in information technology.

In other personnel matters, council authorized Benko and two council members to review the resumes it has on file to see if any are suitable to fill the position of assistant manager. If none is found, Benko will advertise for applicants. Morton would be involved in that process as well, Cassandro said.

Cassandro said he did not know whether council will be in a position to hire an assistant manager by the time Benko retires. The next assistant manager may not be hired until September, Cassandro said.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.

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