City engineer proposes pay split with water, sewer and flags $40,000 MS4 consulting cost

Rob, the city engineer, told the Gardner City Public Service Committee on May 30 that the mayor’s proposed budget includes a restructuring of his and the GIS coordinator’s salary allocations to one-third city, one-third water and one-third sewer, and that change reduces the engineering department’s requested city-funded salary amount.

The change matters because the engineering department handles work for the city’s water and sewer operations and for mapping and record keeping that the GIS coordinator supports, Rob said. He told the committee the proposed split would replace the current allocation, which he described as 50% city and 25% water and 25% sewer for the city engineer’s pay.

Rob said the engineering budget as proposed shows a decrease of nearly $49,000 compared with 2025, and that almost $45,000 of that reduction is salary-related. He also noted a recurring $40,000 consulting line for work tied to the city’s MS4 permit — the municipal stormwater discharge permit administered under EPA rules — which remains in the proposed budget.

Rob described forthcoming changes to the MS4 permit that will require the city to retrofit municipal properties with stormwater treatment devices or other controls. “The requirements of our MS 4 permit through EPA, which is our stormwater discharge permit, are changing,” he said. “One of the things we’re going to be required to do very soon is retrofitting municipal properties with stormwater treatment devices or other controls. That’s going to require engineering survey engineering actual construction.”

A committee member asked whether grants might cover those costs. Rob replied that he had looked for grant opportunities but said they are limited: “Every community has to do this. So grants are kind of few and far between, unfortunately.”

Rob also explained how encumbered professional-services accounts affect reported “actuals.” He said some years require more consultant work than others and that encumbered funds are used to smooth those costs, which can make the year-to-year “actuals” totals look different from the annual budget line items.

No motion or formal vote was taken during the engineering discussion. Committee members asked clarifying questions; staff described the mayor’s proposal and the department’s estimate of work upcoming under the MS4 permit but did not adopt a funding decision at the meeting.

Committee questions and staff answers during the May 30 meeting will inform follow-up budget deliberations later in the city review process.