Editorial: Findings of the Fiscal 6 Project About Gardner MA
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So what did we discover which has set Gardner apart and for which we can accurately give Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson, the Gardner Team, the Gardner City Council, the Gardner School Committee, Department Heads and School Administrators a lot of credit. Here goes:
The findings: There’s been a concerted effort to improve basic city services including upgrading the electronic interfaces with City Hall to make things easier, better, and more efficient. There’s been a focus on turning blighted private properties into future promise by, for example, getting an absentee landlord who owned 8 properties in Downtown to sell 7 of them to private investors who would renovate them and make downtown look better. We observed the proactive effort to either sell unused City properties so they can be put to good use and bring in tax money, or in the case of Waterford Street School, turn it in to something fabulous like the Waterford Community Center from which we seem to get good news every other month or so.
Findings continued: There has been a better way of interacting with City employees with the “people are policy” approach so that for the most part, excellence is displayed across all departments. An initiative was launched in 2020 to be more transparent – and here’s where the Mayor really stands out by being so detailed in his communications with the Gardner City Council that many questions are answered ahead of time. Agendas and documents are displayed with meeting notices and now about 1300 videos of various meetings, a huge effort to keep the citizenry informed. An online checkbook was established where you can see every bill paid in the last week or over a decade ago. We observed the proactive approach to improving education by improving facilities and working on the actual curriculum with various programs in place to make sure each student rises to their level of ability and interest. There has been a greater awareness of the environment and energy and work in that regard. Under Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson, the City of Gardner has practiced a high degree of fiscal responsibility resulting in 4 years in a row of perfect Federal audits and similar private audits of the City finances. We observed a focus on bringing in needed housing to meet needs in the City with additional proactive efforts to be addressed going forward with the first ever Master Plan. There have been infrastructure improvements including a higher percentage of streets paved each year, water and sewer upgrades, and internet connectivity enhancements. To bring the City in to the 21st century, a huge amount of work has been done to update the City Charter, various ordinances, administrative rules, and policies. The books were completely cleaned up such as rescinding outdated loan orders. There’s been a lot of out of the box thinking such as the fountain at Orpheum Park, and so many aesthetic improvements in so many different areas. Mayor Nicholson himself has made improving public transportation a priority and still serves as the Chair of the MART advisory board. Gardner has become a hub for veterans services, and programs for Gardner’s older population are added to all the time. This is but a glimpse in to what Fiscal 6 shows about the City of Gardner.
Werner Poegel – Publisher
To see the complete Fiscal 6 Project, please visit Fiscal6.com for complete interview AUDIO, complete text of the interviews, and so much more Fiscal6.com, CLICK HERE.
The Fiscal 6 Project explores in detail the changes and successes which have occurred in the City of Gardner over the last 5 years. There are more than 3 dozen categories, ALL with success stories. Fiscal6.com, CLICK HERE.
