Council keeps Teamsters negotiation letter on file and asks mayor to clarify charter authority

The Gardner City Council voted on April 6 to retain a communication from Teamsters Local 170 about ongoing union negotiations and to request a written statement from the mayor clarifying the city charter interpretation cited in the letter.

Councilor Mack told colleagues she remained concerned about the lack of clarity and the negotiating team’s composition, saying the information provided so far had been insufficient. She described a previous round of negotiations when councilors learned salary proposals late in the budget process and said the council should be more involved going forward.

Councilor Elizabeth Kazinskus raised a central legal concern: she said the letter’s interpretation would give the mayor “day‑to‑day authority over the city clerk, city auditor, and treasurer collector,” which she said conflicts with the city charter’s grant to the council to hire and remove those officers. “Granting the mayor…that level of authority over financial operations and financial oversight is a dangerous practice,” Kazinskus said, and she moved to keep the item on the agenda until the council received a written statement from the mayor clarifying his position. The amendment to the motion passed, and the main motion to keep the communication on file also passed.

Several councilors emphasized the need for clearer fund and negotiating‑team documentation. The council noted that the negotiating team currently includes the human resources director and the assistant city solicitor, and that the mayor could alter who sits at the table.

Council action on April 6 was procedural: they did not take a final vote on any contract or salary adjustment but asked the city solicitor and the Department of Labor Relations for further clarification and directed the clerk to keep the communication on file pending the mayor’s written response.