Verona officials name interim borough manager

Verona leaders have selected a familiar face to serve as interim borough manager until they can find a full-time replacement for Stefanie Woolford, who announced her resignation in July.

Jason Dailey took over the position after Woolford’s departure Aug. 8. He said he’ll be in the borough office two to three days a week as he helps borough officials find a full-time manager while keeping things in order until that new candidate is hired.

Dailey said his stint at the borough is likely to last six to nine months. His monthly pay will be based on hours worked and will not exceed $8,500.

“It’s important for people to know that just because there’s transition taking place, the lights are going to be on … when they need to call, someone’s going to be picking up that phone,” Dailey said.

Dailey has experience in these situations. His business, Dailey Operation Consulting, based in West Deer, specializes in serving in whatever professional capacity a municipality might need during a time of transition.

Coming most recently from Springdale, the roving manager has worked on a temporary basis for Sharpsburg, Lower Burrell, Kiski, McCandless and Allegheny Township, in addition to his full-time experience at West Deer and Crescent Township.

Dailey has assisted Verona officials in the past. He previously led the development of Verona’s DCED-funded Strategic Management Plan. The project involved a deep dive into the borough’s finances from the previous three years and looking ahead another three years to make recommendations of what the borough could do to improve. Dailey helped officials examine the borough’s technology, police department and parks department.

Participating in the plan makes the borough eligible to apply for future grants.

Verona is a unique community because despite it being a smaller town, it provides its own individual services, including its own police department and code office, Dailey said.

Working directly with communties helps him get an inside look at the needs of the community, staff and officials. He said he begins recruiting for the position on “day one” of the job with the intention of providing borough officials with a list of candidate names.

“It’s a very unique opportunity to be able to learn what the job description entails and be able to custom-fit a candidate to the role,” Dailey said.

Dailey will be balancing the role with his time as interim manager at Kiski Township, interim utilities director in Cranberry Township and interim director of Richland Water Authority.