Ken Bonus is the kind of individual who belongs on Butler City Council.

The 2006 Butler High School graduate becomes the newest council member, picked unanimously Tuesday night to fill the vacant seat of Richard Schontz.

Bonus, a lifelong resident of the area, was one of six applicants for the vacancy. Each of the applicants filled out questionnaires, which were reviewed by council members. They all agreed Bonus’ answers reflected the most highly qualified applicant.

Perhaps more important is his already impressive level of involvement in civic and business affairs.

A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a certified public accountant since 2013, he operates his own firm, Bonus Accounting in Butler.

He is a board member and treasurer of the United Way of Butler County, chairman of the Butler Young Professionals, a board member of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of the Butler Art Center.

He is a cofounder of the Penn Theater Performance Company — a determined group of optimists if there ever was one, considering the herculean task of trying to save and restore the Main Street cinema.

“I have a lot of faith in Butler, and being able to help businesses and the economy thrive in Butler” Bonus said upon accepting the appointment.

Yet there’s a tacit understanding that an accountant’s pragmatic approach to budgets and spreadsheets will temper enthusiasm and faith. It’s a view that’s vital for our city, the financial condition of which forces us to squeeze the most effective use out of every tax dollar.

Bonus has indicated he’ll adopt a team approach — he said he intends to learn what he can from Schontz and will assume his role as director of streets and public improvements.

“As a certified public accountant, if you don’t know something, you do the thorough research and be aware of what you don’t know,” he said. “I’ll be consulting with (the) former councilman regularly just to make sure I’m on the right track. Not reinventing the wheel because we like to keep things as efficient as possible.”

Best wishes to Ken Bonus and to the rest of council as they continue the daunting task of operating our city in prosperous directions with the use of limited resources.