Finance committee approves agreement to process Winchendon veteran benefits; no new staff required

The Gardner City Council Finance Committee voted to authorize the administration to enter into an intermunicipal agreement with the town of Winchendon for veteran services covering fiscal years 2025 through 2027.

Committee members heard that the agreement would let Gardner’s regional veteran services office process Chapter 115 claims for Winchendon residents while Winchendon would continue to fund the actual benefit payments. “From a workload standpoint, it is not a huge lift for our office,” said Corey Castleman, director of veteran services, describing current operations and the office’s capacity after a recently hired assistant director began work.

The agreement uses a per-capita formula Gardner applies to other partner communities: $2 per person in…