While some people think of Carnegie in terms of its past as a bustling railroad town that saw its heyday in the early 1900s, the borough's new manager, Whitney Brady, 25, instead looks toward its potential in the future.

"This should be a destination for people between the airport and Pittsburgh," she said. "It's just a great community. It's got a great history and has great people in it. It's a rich community in the sense that people make it what it is. I want people to see Carnegie as home."

Since she was hired in July, Ms. Brady has worked toward that vision, spending long days attending to business. She's also brought a sense of optimism and energy to the 115-year-old borough that she said is still recovering from the effect of the Hurricane Ivan flood in 2004.

However, she concedes the past six months have been a whirlwind.

"I haven't had a minute," she said.

Though Police Chief Jeffrey Harbin provided some initial transition help as interim manager last spring, it's been a learning process for Ms. Brady, who characterized her tenure this way: "For the most part it's been a process of discovery."

"I track my progress through agendas," she added, referencing some of the controversial issues like delinquent sewage collection and volunteer fire department funding that have come before council and the public.

Developing the borough's 2010 budget was such a major task that she took the income and spending data home to study for two months.

For communities like Carnegie with stagnant tax bases, preparing a balanced budget without cutting services or raising taxes isn't easy.

"You just can't put a number on paper and hope it works," Ms. Brady said, adding she is determined that the borough stay in the black on her watch.

To that end, she was able to locate a new health insurance carrier that charged lower premiums for Carnegie employees. On the other hand, the unresolved reassessment of Carnegie Towers, the 10-story, federally subsidized high rise on Washington Avenue that was sold in September, may mean nearly $100,000 in reduced income.

Ms. Brady's work has drawn compliments from borough leaders.

"It's been one thing after another and she's done an exemplary job in everything she's handled," said Councilman Pat Catena.

"She's done a great job. I just look forward to better things for our community in the future because of her," agreed council President Mike Sarsfield.

With tight finances, borough leaders are looking for new revenue, a search Ms. Brady said will continue next year.

In 2009, officials focused on the collection of delinquent sewage accounts, which got Ms. Brady's feet wet quickly in dealing with upset and angry residents. So far, more than $150,000 in past-due accounts has been collected; the remainder is expected to come in within the next four months.

In 2010, the borough will push for the collection of the $40 landlord-tenant fee that was enacted in 2008. The fee is charged to landlords on each rental unit. Carnegie plans to mail invoices to landlords, about half of whom live outside of the borough.

Like the delinquent sewage bills, Ms. Brady said the landlord-tenant fee must be collected because "we [too] have bills to pay."

Still, she said officials want to build a rapport with landlords.

"We don't want to hunt them down. We want them to understand that [these homes] are their investment. Maintain them and treat them properly," she said.

Soft-spoken but firm, she knows firsthand that Carnegie residents "have no problem telling you if they're not happy" and that her job entails implementing policy in a fair and just manner.

Ms. Brady, who grew up in Mount Oliver and earned a bachelor's degree from Chatham College and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, worked for the Allegheny County Department of Development before coming to Carnegie. At the county, she oversaw economic development, maintained a data base of tax incentives for developers and also did grant writing.

To stay productive, she admits to keeping a tight schedule. On weekdays, she rises at 4 a.m., drinks some coffee and then goes running, arriving at her office between 7:30 and 8 a.m. On the weekends, she sleeps in, but never past 8 a.m.

Besides providing energy, running gives her an opportunity for solitude and reflection.

"I know when I get up at that time of day nobody can bother me," she said.

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