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Gardner committee backs renewed intermunicipal agreement with Ashby for veteran services
Summary
The Finance Committee recommended that the full council authorize a renewed intermunicipal agreement (IMA) with the town of Ashby for veteran services through June 30, 2028; staff said services continued uninterrupted during the brief administrative delay and the IMA follows the city—s per-capita fee structure with an annual increase.
The Gardner City Council Finance Committee on July 31 recommended that the full council authorize a renewed intermunicipal agreement allowing the city to provide veteran services to the town of Ashby through June 30, 2028.
The committee advanced the order after a presentation from Manning, director, who described the renewal and the fee structure. "This is a renewal of the 1 year agreement that we had with the town of Ashby," Manning said, adding that the city charges "$2 per individual in the population of that community" as the initial base and applies a yearly increase. Manning said the renewal includes a 3% annual increase from the original IMA.
The matter was placed on the committee agenda as item 11622. Councilors asked whether any services had been interrupted while the city and Ashby completed the paperwork. A councilor asked, "Does any of the services get interrupted in the month that this is lagged?"
Manning replied that services have continued: "No. We we fill in as interim, basically. The only thing that gets delayed is us issuing the invoice to them. But, actually, Ashby is fully on board with us supporting regardless of the IMA being slightly delayed or not." He added that Ashby approved the agreement at its select board before returning the signed version to Gardner.
Committee members voted by voice to recommend authorization of the order to the full council; the transcript records the motion as "Motion made by councilor Mac, seconded by council Hegland to recommend authorization of the order to the full council" and notes "Motion carries." The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.
Why it matters: The IMA sets the fee the city will bill Ashby for veteran services and establishes the renewal through mid-2028; committee members sought and received assurance from staff that service delivery to Ashby continued while paperwork was pending.
The order will be considered by the full Gardner City Council at a subsequent meeting.
