Zilka Will Take Mayor's Oath on Dec. 30

Mayor-elect Greg Zilka will take the Oath of Office on Friday, Dec. 30. His officially begins at midnight at Jan. 1, 2012, however, he can be sworn in beforehand.

Judge Darrel Bilancini will administer the oath at State Rep. Matthew Lundy will act as the master of ceremonies for the event and Richard Turner will provide the invocation followed by remarks by Zilka.

The event is not open to the public. Zilka expressed regret that the size of the venue would prevent it from being a public event.

“It’s important to be sworn in before,” Zilka said, noting that circumstances beyond one’s control, such as a blizzard, could prevent a swearing in Jan.

The ceremony will be repeated Jan. 3, the first council session of 2012.

First order of business

Zilka said one of the first items he will look at during his term would be to propose a performance audit.

“The Auditor of State has made it available to any public entity to have a system audited,” Zilka said. “They will make recommendations on efficiency.”

Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch pushed council to consider a performance audit for the Avon Lake Fire Department in March 2010. Payment for the audit comes from future savings the review may result in.

“It’s something maybe we want to phase in,” Zilka said. “Maybe look at several departments this year and several next year. Especially with the implementation of new technology, we may not be getting maximum use out of it.”

A week of transition

Zilka is using this week to transition from his position on council, where he served more than 25 years, to the office of mayor.

He selected Elizabeth Gedeon, who sits on the Avon Lake Community Council and is the President of the Avon Lake Early Childhood PTA, as his secretary. Gedeon will meet with Mayor K.C. Zuber’s secretary, Sharon Hehl, to learn how to update the city’s website, one of Hehl’s responsibilities

He will also meet with Zuber this week

“I talked to Mayor Zuber briefly last week,” Zilka said. “The end of this week I will begin making the move down the hall (from the council president’s office to the mayor’s office at City Hall).