Gardner committee backs reappointment of purchasing director after report on contracts, parking enforcement

The Gardner City Appointments Committee recommended confirmation of Josh Cormier as the city's director of purchasing and civil enforcement on a voice vote Friday after Cormier summarized his office's work and recent results.

Cormier told the committee he has served as director since 2019 and described the department's role as ensuring that purchasing and solicitation follow federal and state law and local ordinance. "We're required to have a fair and open and competitive process," he said.

Cormier gave a numerical account of recent activity. He said that "from FY23 to FY25, we did 7,202 purchase orders for $130,525,000 and some change. In FY26 so far, we've done 955 purchase orders for $22,000." He also said the purchasing office handled 260 contracts totaling nearly $13 million from FY23 to FY25 and 21 contracts for just over $1 million in FY26 to date. On contracts and purchase rules he referenced state procurement frameworks, saying the office reviews everything under "30B, Uniform Procurement Act, 30-39M" and what he described as "149" for vertical construction.

Citing process changes,…