Gardner City safety committee recommends FY2026 budget, flags police and fire overtime requests and nonunion pay grid change

The Gardner City Public Safety Committee voted May 22 to recommend the City Council approve the city’s proposed FY2026 budget as presented, citing a roughly 2% increase over last year and a series of department-specific pressures that will require follow-up action by councilors and staff.

Committee leaders said the city’s budget team built revenue projections conservatively — using about 96% of the three‑year average on many line items — and that several departments will seek free‑cash appropriations this year to cover mid‑year overages. The committee approved the recommendation by voice vote (motion by Councilor Brooks; second by Councilor Hardin). All members present voted in favor.

The committee’s discussion focused on a handful of high‑priority cost drivers. The fire department will ask the full council for a free‑cash appropriation to cover an overtime overage estimated at $260,000, primarily attributed to deployments, injuries and mutual‑aid responses. The police department expects a free‑cash request of about $170,000, driven largely by vacancies and the need to backfill officers on overtime.

Budget staff said several near‑term workforce changes should relieve some pressure: a number of recruits are in the pipeline and several attendees noted fire‑academy graduations expected between now and September. Still, officials cautioned that unplanned events could continue to push overtime needs upward.

The mayor and the auditor described a change to the city’s salary ordinance (item 11539) for nonunion employees. Instead of a single compensation schedule, the administration proposed a step grid: the FY2025 pay rates were set as the first step, the grid applies 4% between steps, and the grid creates a clearer multi‑step pay path intended to improve retention. A city salary survey informed the change; two nonunion positions — the director of veteran services and the senior center director — were below the survey minimums and were adjusted upward to meet that minimum.

Departmental presentations identified other recurring and one‑time pressures included in the budgets. Solid‑waste and recycling costs rose: the city’s trash contract contains a built‑in 3% price increase and recycling revenue remains volatile because commodity markets fluctuate. Environmental monitoring at the solid waste landfill reflected a roughly 5% contractual increase over the prior year, similar to the prior year’s rise. Staff said they are seeking to build free cash for major repairs to the landfill, including replacement of leachate pumps.

On the landfill, officials said the leachate collection system relies on six pumps that are near the end of their service life after about 20 years of operation. City staff cited a prior estimate that replacement work could be in the neighborhood of $45,000 (estimate dated to a 2022 scope) and said they are obtaining updated quotes. The city’s environmental monitoring reports showed stable levels and no indication of leachate breaching groundwater, but staff also flagged erosion on the landfill cap as a separate maintenance need.

Several departmental leaders raised requests that were not accommodated in the budget this year. The building department sought funding to convert a part‑time plumbing and gas inspector (currently 20 hours per week) to a full‑time position; budget staff said the city could not fund that increase in FY2026 but that it remains a long‑term goal. Vehicle replacements for several departments — including continued rotation of police cruisers and at least one building‑department vehicle that failed inspection — were discussed as capital priorities that may require free‑cash funding or future budget adjustments.

Police and fire chiefs and other presenters reiterated staffing challenges. Committee discussion referenced National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) staffing guidance and how current local staffing levels fall short of those recommendations. Officials said federal grant programs exist to fund additional public‑safety positions temporarily, but they warned that many grants fund a declining share of a position over a multi‑year period and involve clawback risks if a municipality cannot sustain the positions after the grant ends. The committee and staff noted Gardner’s scheduled pension liability payoff in the early 2030s will shape longer‑term capacity to add recurring positions.

Next steps: by recommending the budget as presented, the safety committee forwarded the FY2026 package and flagged multiple free‑cash appropriation requests that will appear before the full City Council for approval. Staff said they will return updated cost estimates for the landfill pump work, and department heads will continue to brief councilors on hiring and vehicle plans as recruitment and equipment quotes evolve.