From the President’s Desk – September 2026 Update with Gardner City Council President George Tyros
Press Release from George Tyros:
A+ Collaboration: Strengthening Council & School Committee Oversight – On September 14th, I had the privilege of presenting an amendment to my ordinance to Strengthen Oversight and Transparency of Capital Improvements Planning and Projects before the Gardner School Committee regarding Section 40 of our City Charter. That section gives the School Committee and the Mayor exclusive authority over approval of construction and alterations of school buildings before they occur.
The purpose of this amendment is to establish procedures and ensure transparency with Section 40 of the City Charter and create structured bridge between the School Committee and the City Council’s oversight regarding school capital improvements.
In practice, there have been variations from the statutory process. School Committee and Mayoral approval for most school projects is difficult to ascertain, absent, or never requested. The School Committee has inconsistently receives updates from the school administration and with a wide variation of details when updated. Similarly, the City Council has noticed a trend of requests for appropriations from the School Department coming at the last possible hour or with limited details.
Following a thoughtful discussion, the School Committee voted 6-1 to endorse the proposed amendment. This ordinance and amendment will now go through the Council’s legislative process and will be on Monday’s meeting agenda.
Follow the Money: Combating Scammers and Financial Oversight
Fiscal accountability and internal security were central themes throughout our September sessions. At our September 8 meeting, the Council formally placed on file the investigative review by Councillor Heglin regarding a sophisticated fraudulent vendor payment incident. Thanks to immediate, coordinated intervention by the City Auditor, Treasurer, DPW, and Police Department, nearly all stolen funds were successfully recovered. To protect our systems going forward, we are implementing stricter protocols, including mandatory dual-verification of vendor banking changes over the phone, enhanced internal controls within our Munis financial platform, and recurring cybersecurity training for municipal personnel.
Building on these protections, the Council advanced an ordinance on September 21 designed to institutionalize long-term financial governance and budget preparedness. Through an amendment adopted on the floor based on prior debated feedback, the ordinance now requires the City Auditor to submit monthly expenditure reports directly to the Finance Committee, guaranteeing ongoing fiscal visibility. In tandem with these reporting measures, we also advanced legislation establishing predictable multi-year review schedules for enterprise rates—such as water, sewer, and solid waste hauling contracts—to protect residents and local businesses from abrupt rate shocks.
Pumping the Brakes: Steering Away from Blanket Parking Bans
One of the most consequential debates of the month centered around a recommendation from the Traffic Commission that the Mayor passed onto us that would introduce a hybrid winter parking ban across the city. This hybrid proposal would have introduce a full-time ban, regardless of weather conditions, from January to March and on-call bans at all other times of the year. After careful deliberation and hearing from dozens of residents across every ward, the City Council voted unanimously, 10–0, to defeat the measure.
While clearing roadways quickly and efficiently for DPW plows and emergency apparatus remains a critical public safety goal, a blanket overnight ban disproportionately harms working families, multi-vehicle households, and renters who do not have access to dedicated off-street parking.
Rather than penalizing residents on clear winter nights, our focus must instead turn toward modernizing and testing the CodeRED emergency notification system, deploying clear informational signage and mailers, and enforcing the parking prohibitions that are currently in place during actual winter storm events.
September Wrapped Up
September has been an active, productive month across City Hall. As autumn begins, your municipal leaders have remained focused on strengthening internal financial safeguards, expanding intergovernmental collaboration, and enacting fair, sensible local policies that reflect direct resident feedback.
See you all next month! George.
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