MASSENA -- The Town Council at an Aug. 27 special meeting hired an assessor and appointed a first deputy town clerk.

The board hired Vern Brand to fill out the unexpired assessor term, effective Sept. 10. He will be paid $56,000 per year, plus benefits.

He is currently assessor for the Town of Jerusalem, Yates County, according to a news release from Town Supervisor Steve O'Shaughnessy.

“We are happy to have someone, like Mr. Brand, who is a NYS Certified Assessor and has had extensive experience with commercial, farm and residential evaluations. He will work with Michael Ward, who retired at the end of July as the sole assessor, for an orientation period and then be able to hit the ground running," Councilor Melanie Cunningham, who led the assessor search, said in a prepared statement.

Brand has worked as an assessor in two other towns and "brings a wealth of experience to Massena," the release said.

"He has experience in building permit validation, has experience in NYS Real Property System and will be working with other Town departments as we develop our community development programs," O'Shaughnessy said in the release.

Brand has a bachelor's degree in information technology from Capella University.

The board also named Natalie Sweatland of Massena as first deputy town clerk. She will be paid $17 per hour, the supervisor said. The appointment is through Dec. 31. She will work as needed to cover when the town clerk or deputy town clerk are absent.