Gardner Council Keeps Teamsters Charter Dispute on Agenda, Demands Mayor Respond in Writing

GARDNER — April 6, 2026 — Gardner City Council keeps Teamsters charter dispute alive and demands a written mayoral statement. The council voted unanimously Monday to hold a second letter from Teamsters Union Local 170 on its active agenda rather than filing it, after Councilor Elizabeth Kuczynski argued the letter's claim that the mayor holds day-to-day authority over the city clerk, auditor, and treasurer-collector directly contradicts the city charter's grant of hiring and removal power to the council — calling the interpretation "a serious assault on our local democracy." Councilor Catherine Mack separately raised concerns that department heads effectively set their own salaries in last year's failed negotiations. The council also sent two amendments to the Primary Non-Union Compensation Schedule to second and final printing — Item 11776 passing 10-0 and Item 11777 passing 8-1 with Councilor Brooks dissenting — and approved a $3,588 transfer to cover outside auditing help secured during the city's auditor search. State Representative John Zlotnik warned that Gardner's Chapter 90 road aid allotment, which more than doubled last year under a new road-miles formula, must be defended annually, and said a potential $4 billion in additional state tax cuts could make the coming budget cycles "pretty tense."