Borough gets a new mayor

Rudzki takes oath of office

Council Vice President Matthew Rudzki was sworn in as mayor by Common Pleas Judge Robert Gallo at the Sharpsburg Borough reorganization meeting Tuesday night, offcially ending a run of 60 years of civic service by former mayor RichardPanza.

“I served on council here, probably before a lot of you were born,” Judge Gallo told the standing-room-only audience. “It’s a very difficult job, being a local official. Everyone wants their problems solved, even if they’re unsolvable.”

After taking the oath of office, Mr. Rudzki said: “Serving my hometown is a humbling honor. As it undergoes a transformation, I will assure it grows responsibly. The beauty of Sharpsburg’s revitalization will always be it’s residents.”

After 60 years of serving his hometown, including eight terms as mayor, Mr. Panza retired from public service.

He began his career when he joined the police department in 1957. His first eight terms as mayor ran from 1965 to 1973. At that time he served as a council member until 2010 when he was reelected

“I miss my seat up there,” said Mr. Panza as he stood in the back of council chambers. “Good luck to all. Everything I did I did for the people of Sharpsburg. Make sure you do a good job and take care of them.”

Brittany Reno was then sworn in to borough council and then was elected council president by a

Matthew Rudzki

unanimousvote.

She replaces Karen Pastor, who served two terms as president and was re-elected to serve council in November.

In addition to Ms. Pastor, others taking the oath of office after winning their elections were Matthew Bruknokand Joseph Simbari.

The first ordinance passed by the newly seated council was keeping Sharpsburg’s tax millage rate at 7.15 mills for 2018.

“Serving my hometown is a humbling honor. As it undergoes a transformation, I will assure it grows responsibly. The beauty of Sharpsburg’s revitalization will always be it’s residents.”