Council president warns of sloppy financial practices, says procedural changes will be proposed

The presiding officer of the Gardner City Council used his closing remarks on March 2 to publicly criticize recent handling of municipal finances and to flag forthcoming procedural reforms.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat this," the council president said, listing a series of concerns: bills that were not paid until utilities were shut off, donations requiring retroactive approval months after the fact, incomplete details on new revolving accounts that required returns to staff for more information, loan repayments reported to be hundreds of thousands of dollars short, and an unresolved issue over money taken from a specific appreciation account that was spent on another purpose. He also referenced a report from the superintendent that the school budget for next year could have a shortfall of up to $1,000,000 and said the library had received no communication about the FY27 budget.

The president framed the problem as both operational and governance-related, saying councilors bear responsibility for financial oversight. He said his professional background in risk management informed his concerns and pledged to bring further procedural and budget-process changes to the council at the next meeting.

No formal action was taken during these remarks; the council proceeded to a motion to adjourn, which passed.