The Vinton Town Council appointed a 32-year-old financial analyst Tuesday night to fill the vacancy of a member who died in December.

Matthew Hare, an analyst at Kollmorgen, a manufacturer of electric motors and drives, was named the fifth member in a council meeting Tuesday night.

Hare will serve through June 30, when the late Billy Obenchain, a council member since 1994, would have completed his term.

Hare said late Tuesday that he has not decided whether he will run in the spring election. Councilman Robert Altice's seat will also be up for election.

Hare joins the five-member council just weeks before it begins discussing what its capital expense and project priorities will be for its $10.8 million budget. Perhaps the highest-profile project is for downtown revitalization.

"We're going to have to figure out what the state cuts are going to do to our budget, and how we'll fill that void," Town Manager Chris Lawrence said.

Mayor Bradley Grose said Hare will be an asset particularly during that period.

"I think his experience as a financial analyst will be very valuable as we go into planning our budget for next year," Grose said.

Hare is a 10-year resident of Vinton, and lives with his wife and three children, a town news release said. He also is Vinton's representative on the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission.

-- Jorge Valencia