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Assessor says office was omitted from building-permit workflow; minutes approved and executive session called
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Summary
At a Gardner City meeting April 27 the Assessor reported being excluded from the building-permit workflow — a change first noticed March 26 that remains unresolved despite a mayoral email April 21; the body approved March 24 minutes 2-0 and voted to enter executive session under a cited statute.
The Assessor told colleagues at a Gardner City meeting on April 27 that the assessor's office had been omitted from the city's building-permit workflow, disrupting the usual good-standing checks for permit applicants. The body approved the March 24 meeting minutes by recorded voice vote and moved into executive session under a cited general law.
The omission was first raised on March 26, the Assessor said, and the mayor sent a follow-up email to involved departments on April 21. "The assessor's office is part of building permit workflow," the Assessor said, adding that the change has prevented routine checks of owner and personal-property account information. "As of today, it still hasn't been fixed," the Assessor said.
Why it matters: the assessor's role in the permit process is to supply ownership and tax-account information so the city can confirm whether applicants are in good standing before permits proceed. Without that step, departments that normally rely on the assessor are contacting the assessor's office directly to resolve questions, and the city may miss opportunities to collect taxes, excise fees or citations tied to permitting activity.
According to the Assessor, the building commissioner circulated a February notice about changes to the permitting system and offered meetings with department heads during the transition; the Assessor said they did not raise concerns until they noticed they were no longer receiving permit notifications. The Assessor said the building commissioner visited the assessor's office after the mayor's April 21 email and "assured me she's gonna work to get us back on the workflow," but the problem remained unresolved at the time of the meeting.
The Assessor also noted civic outreach: they spoke at the senior center on April 8 to explain the assessor's office functions and answered residents' questions.
Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded a motion to accept minutes from March 24, 2026; the motion was seconded and recorded as passing 2-0. Later, the body moved to enter executive session "under general law chapter 38 section 21 a 7, to comply with or act under the authority of any general law," and the motion was seconded; the meeting prepared to proceed into executive session and no further public business was recorded in the transcript.
What happens next: The Assessor said the building commissioner had promised to restore the assessor's place in the workflow; meeting minutes and the executive-session motion were the only formal actions recorded in the public portion of the meeting. The meeting adjourned its public session to enter executive session.
