Verona is going through a transition period following the unexpected resignations this past week of three members of the borough’s management team and council.
At its Aug. 30 meeting, Verona council accepted the resignation of borough secretary Christine DeRunk, effective Sept. 9. DeRunk came aboard in August 2021 and had served as the de facto borough manager, but she is moving to take the borough manager’s job in Sharpsburg, which is closer to her home in Shaler.
As a result of DeRunk’s resignation, Verona seeks to find an immediate replacement and is advertising for the position publicly.
In addition, Dave Matlin, council president and Joey Warren, vice president, submitted their resignations at the Aug. 30 meeting for personal reasons. Matlin’s effective date was September 1, while Warren’s date is to be determined, as he has agreed to help the council transition into new leadership before officially vacating his position.
Matlin has been on council since January 2020, later serving as vice president before being named president at the start of 2022. Warren was appointed to a vacant seat in July 2021 his election to council in November. He also was named vice president this January.
“It took us all by surprise,” said councilwoman Trish Hredzak-Showalter.
Council has 30 days to fill the positions from the time of the resignations, or the issue will go to court to be decided by a judge. Anyone interested in either council position should submit a formal letter of interest to Verona Borough at admin@veronaborough.org no later than 12:15 p.m. Sept. 9 for consideration at the Sept. 13 council meeting. The positions both run until the end of 2023.
Despite the sudden and unexpected changes, Hredzak-Showalter is confident the council will come through the transition for the better.
“It’s going to be tough to move forward with this transition because these are big vacancies. But every obstacle is a chance to move forward in a positive fashion. We’ll be sad to miss three people who meant a lot to the council, especially on the financial side. We’ve really made a lot of progress in such a short time on that end,” she said. “It’s tough to have a setback like this, but this is an opportunity to grow and maybe even add some new strengths that we didn’t have before.”
The listing for all three vacancies can be found at veronaborough.org/employment.
