PAXTON — Newly appointed Paxton City Council member Marc Amore said he hopes to use his experience as the owner of a local pest-control business to help the council come up with “common sense” solutions to managing the city’s finances.

“I’d like to think that hopefully I can try to bring some common sense to the job and utilize the kinds of things it takes to run a small business — being frugal and trying to spend money wisely,” Amore said. “I’d like to just kind of bring a common-sense approach to things. ... I kind of hope to be the ‘every man’ on the city council.”

Amore, 35, was appointed Monday night by Mayor Bill Ingold to fill a long-vacant Ward 3 seat, formerly held by Bill Wylie.

Amore is serving his first public office. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Ford County Board two years ago.

Amore said he is “definitely excited” about his new opportunity. But Amore, who has lived in Paxton for about five years, said he realizes there will be challenges, including getting to know the residents of Ward 3, an area of Paxton that includes mainly the southwest portion of town.

“Not being from the community (originally), that’s a concern of mine, so people may not know me,” Amore said. “But hopefully they’ll get to know me and trust me. Anybody from my area, just give me a ring. My phone number is listed in the phone book. Any concerns they have will be dealt with.”

Amore lives at 536 S. Market St. with his wife of 12 years, Jenna, and their two sons, Dominic, 12, and Mason, 7. For nearly two years, Amore has owned and operated Paxton Pest Solutions, a pest-control service based in Paxton.

Although he has never held public office, he did serve as regional vice president of the state pest control association from 2007 to 2010, he said.

“Basically I was in charge of anybody that needed help within the pest-control industry from our region, which went basically from Rockford down by Springfield and over across the state, excluding Chicago,” Amore said.

One of Amore’s duties while serving the association was serving on a subcommittee that was tasked with recommending new treatment methods for bed bugs.

Amore said he wanted to serve on the council — and is considering running for election to the council when his appointed term expires next April — because he enjoys serving the community.

“It seemed like there was a need for somebody to come in and help out, and I like to serve people,” Amore said. “I think this is the greatest country in the world, and I think one of the best things somebody can do is to serve their community.”

Amore said there are no specific issues he intends to address as an alderman. He said at this point he just wants to “get in and find out what’s going on and see what I can do to help and make Paxton an even better community than it is.”

Meanwhile, Amore said he likes the idea of communities pooling resources to get better purchase prices — something the mayor is currently working on with several other area towns.

“Small things like that make a big difference over time,” Amore said.

Amore said he appreciates Ingold offering him the job.

“I just would like to thank the mayor for the opportunity and the people for the opportunity to serve them,” Amore said.