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Committee endorses creation of Economic Development and Finance Manager position, forwards ordinance to full council
Summary
The Finance Committee recommended combining two positions into a single Economic Development and Finance Manager and forwarded a companion salary ordinance to the full council; members discussed funding mix and competitiveness of the proposed salary.
The Gardner City Council Finance Committee on March 12 voted to recommend creating an Economic Development and Finance Manager position in the Community Development and Planning Department and to forward a companion salary ordinance to the full council.
Mister Norris, a city staff member presenting the order, said the recommendation combines the economic development coordinator and the budget project manager into one role and noted the “city code ... does require that the council approve the creation of any positions and their job descriptions, before any movements move forward.” He said the proposal is intended to increase departmental efficiency; the packet included a proposed job description and the salary ordinance tied to that position.
Committee members asked about funding and competitiveness. The mayor said the current plan shows the position funded by a combination of block grant (CDBG) funds, Gardner Redevelopment Authority funds and general fund dollars for the remainder; the mayor said the grant funding for the year has already been assigned and appropriated and that budget decisions for FY26 will determine future allocations. A councilor noted prior salary for a comparable position was about $118,000 and asked whether the new range would be competitive; Director Stevens and Director Morse told the committee they believed the city could attract qualified candidates and that the proposed range had been compared with other communities and with the director/assistant director pay bands.
The committee made two formal recommendations: first, to authorize the order creating the new position and its job description and, second, to recommend the salary ordinance adding the position to the nonunion pay schedule (agenda items 11510 and 11511). Motions were made and seconded; the committee recorded the motions as carried and referred the order and the ordinance to the full council for final action. The mayor and auditor said they will continue to evaluate whether future funding should shift from grant sources to general revenues during the FY26 budget process.
No final appropriation was made at the committee meeting; the salary ordinance must be adopted annually by the council to authorize compensation payments.
