All right. Um, I now call the meeting of the appointments committee of Card City Council, Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 to order. Clerk, please give a roll call. Councelor Keith, present. Councelor Hland, present. Councelor Gazinskias.
[Music] All right. Announcement of opening meeting recordings. Is anyone recording today's meeting besides staff? This one here. Um, reading of minutes of prior meetings.
Uh, May 14th, 2025. I'll move to dispense with a reading of the minutes and accept them as presented. Okay. Is there any discussion? Just want to make one quick comment. Um I um coming today I was thinking about I
had made a previous request for us to send the mayor a letter with some questions about the inspectional services letter head that um former commissioner Tom Zuba had used and just the origins of why the department title had changed where this letterhead had come from. Uh we have not received word
yet and I was definitely surprised when I was looking through the minutes in preparation for today that it was that long ago. It felt like it hadn't been that long. like May 14th happened to be the meeting where that took place. So hopefully that'll be fixed and we'll um before a new hire and and hopefully we'll hear from that soon. That as well.
All right. And um the letterhead had the Department of Inspection Services, right? And ours is the building department. So just want to clear that up and find out more information. Hopefully we'll hear soon. All right. All those in favor say I. I.
Um all those oppose say no. Motion passes. All right. Interview of the following appointed. All right. Item 11487 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Steve Hirens to the position of sealer of weights and measures for term
expiring January 16th, 2028. Mr. Sire you one. Yes. All right, Mr. Irons. Um, thank you for coming today. Would you like to uh let us know what you do? What I do? All right. Well, I am the sealer of weights and measures for the
city of Gardner. I test all of the scales, gas pumps, oil trucks, uh measuring devices, uh yard sticks. We still test yard sticks, believe it or not. But yeah, that's one of the things. Um but yeah, I've been doing that since
1989 for the city of Garden. 36 years. Appointment date was 1989. Um any questions? Sure. Thank you. First of all, very nice to meet you. Now have a nice face to the name. I recognize from
if you fill up and garden, you've seen the name. Yeah, absolutely. Uh and then just walking through the job a little bit. You know, I think it's something that maybe a lot of the public who might watch aren't sure of. Um I hate to admit that I was born in 1989, but uh so you've been doing this for a long time. We want to thank you for your years in
this role for the city of gardener. Um how often do you have to check those devices? Is it once a year? Is it multiple times? It's it's uh officially once a year. Um I go through particularly supermarkets. I'll go through and check supermarket scales on a regular basis just with what they put
out. Uh if you notice they have on the side of all of the deli counters now, they have prepackaged deli goods. I'll check 15 of those when I go in. Uh just to make sure that they're saying what they're supposed to say. The scales are checked definitely every year if
there's a problem with them. the the folks at the supermarkets are pretty good about calling me cuz I don't really go in to get angry at them. We get along pretty well. So, they'll call me if there's a problem with their stuff. Um
the other things I'll check the prepackaged meat, steaks, hamburgers, uh uh whatever else could be over on the other shelves from the meat department. Uh so all of those scales I test annually. All the scales up front I test annually. scanners I check semianually.
In other words, the where they just take the package and they run it through there and it gives you the price. They have a testing system from the division of standards where we do a 100 products in the supermarket at least and they have to get 98 correct or they
failed the test. So, we go through and give that a pretty good test. I usually do 125 to 130 products. I have the person in charge of that in the store walk with me and we go just up and down the aisles is the plan
from the division of standards. 10 items each aisle up and down. I can pick, they can pick, it doesn't matter to me. Um that is what we do in supermarkets. Gas stations, we do the same thing. They're tested annually. Any complaints come in,
we test immediately and take care of any complaints that come up. The gas pumps are tested with a 5gallon prover that's approved by again the division of standards. Um, and they have a five cubic inch
uh uh rate. What's the word I'm using trying to get here? Um, error. Thank you. So 5 cubic inch error on either side of zero. There's 231 cubic inches in a gallon and it's a
5gallon prover. So, we test each one of those, pour it back in the ground, and test it again with the five gallon provers. Just recently, we finished or I finished the uh Safeway station on Pearson Boulevard, and pump six was 25
cubic in over. So, the gas station was losing quite a bit. So, that's again, that's one of the things where we're working for them as well as we work for the consumer. And so we test all of those in the city. There's 200 plus pumps
and 150 scales, 155 scales and that can change every year depending on a new company coming in. Uh farmers markets we check. Thank you. That's that's really interesting. I I think it's probably
more involved than people maybe realize more. Every year it has. It used to be you just filled it up and walked over and dumped it out. Now, I've got all the paperwork that I keep for each scale. I keep a cubic inch numbers as to which they're off so I can check it against
last year's cuz uh a lot of the scales are the same scales year in and year out or the the gas pumps are the same gas pumps year in and year out. So we keep a a number. They have a serial number on them. They have a ID number on them. And we take all of that, put it in our
paperwork, and uh we can present that to the division of standards at any given time when they look for it. And they do. Uh we have to keep that paperwork for four years. Great. Thank you so much. I appreciate that for my questions. That's interesting. Yeah.
Um thank you, Council Hein. So I I seen the title. I didn't know exactly what it consisted of and everything else. And I, you know, I I work in the grocery stores in my personal Yeah, I see you there. I see you all the time. And um I just never put the two together. I see, you
know, your name on the gas pumps and everything else. And I was, you know, it's just awesome for the public to see everything that you do and everything else. And um that's one of the reasons why we this appointments committee was made is to go ahead and make sure, you know, for one that we can fit everybody
out. And um you know for two to make sure that the public knows all of the you know the important people that are in the city that try to make sure like you said that you know making sure that we're getting that dollars worth when we're going to the gas pump or measuring you know we're buying our meat and
vegetables and everything else. So it makes sense to me now that I sit here and look at it and I'm sitting here and I'm looking at the chart like you know like what does this job entail? So, I'm glad that you were able to come in here and explain it. Um,
so was there um only questions I have is what challenges have you had in the position? A lot of the challenges come from the people the the the people have there's a number on the um gas pumps for people to call and that is the division of standards and they'll turn around and get back to
me or they call the mayor's office and I don't like to let any complaints go or any misunderstandings go. So, we get those squared away immediately. Um, challen that's the challenge is the people don't don't get what they're supposed to get. And that happens, you
know, I mean, I'll go test the pump and find that it's short. So, I'll address it. I'll shut the pump down and we'll address it with the manager. Typically, the gas stations now are owned by much bigger companies than the the regular guy that used to own
them when I first started. So that process is better now, believe it or not, because these guys don't want to make mistakes with their gas pumps. So they get their texts out right away and straighten them out. So it's really good. That's the biggest thing. And I take a little pride in the fact that people are getting what they're supposed
to get. And I don't skip a scale. I don't skip a gas pump because, you know, I got 26 gas pumps to do. So I'm going to do 20 today. I don't ever do that. that I make sure that all of them get tested so everybody gets a fair shake cuz at $3 a gallon and $20 a pound for a
good steak, you want to get what you're paying for and people should get what they're paying for. Exactly. And um if I had to ask one other question, if you had to say there was some rooms for improvement or things that could help you with your job, is there anything that you can see?
Uh you know, it's funny you ask. The the equipment today is the same equipment I used when I started. I have a couple of tanks that I still I started with 39 36 years ago. Um it it's pretty much the same. The weights are the same. Although
division of standards again, they test them every couple of years our stuff. Y and then every 10 or 12 years they'll say, "All right, you got to get new equipment." And that's a really big expense for the city. Um just keeping the equipment up to date. That's the key. I mean, that's the
challenge is making sure that what we have works. That's good to know. Good question. Glad you asked that. Awesome. Thank you. Um, no further questions. No further questions. Yeah. Thank you so much. Okay. Easy peasy.
Thank you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you for coming again. Got a rubbish bar right there. This thing should be just on right over here. Yep. Okay. Anything else? That's it. No. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Have a good one. Stay cool. See you soon. You have a great one. I'll see you. Yeah. I'll see you at one of the games. Yes. All right. Um item 11551. Um this is a measure confirming the mayor's appointment um of office for
Russ. Um I'm going to ask for more time for this. Sure. No objection. Okay. Uh item 11617 um measure confirming the mayor's appointment for Mario Kai. Um and then
this is another situation I think we should go ahead and ask for more time. So we go ahead and get a right upgrade. All right. All right. Item 11 620. a measure confirming to elect the city treasurer and city collector of
taxes effective August 4th, 2025. Um, for the public, this item is different from our usual business because we're discussing the election of the treasurer collector, one of the one of only three
department heads of the city charter requires the council to elect rather than be appointed by the mayor. Um the council president and I agreed that the committee is the right place to review these council elected positions and
ensure we are meeting our oversight responsibilities. I plan to follow this same process for the auditors next or the auditor's yes next election year and the city clerk in 2027. Um, with that with that being said, I'd
like to ask uh our current treasurer and collector to speak with us, answer any questions. Okay. Hi. Hello. Um, I I did prepare a few things. I figured I'll let you all know exactly what takes place in the office. So,
thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. uh you know it's an honor to work with so many dedicated individuals all working towards the common goal of advancing the city to reach its highest potential. So the treasurer collector plays an important role in the city uh
it's wearing two different hats. So on the treasurer's side um uh the department processes payroll for every city employee. This includes all the different pay areas, regular time, overtime, shift differential, holiday
pay, any and every kind of pay, as well as all deductions for taxes, insuranceances, garnishments, union dues, uh optional benefits. Um, and all of these transactions must be complete and correct to ensure that all employees
are paid what they should be paid. Uh we rely on the information given by every city department and plug all that into the computer. We do have deadlines for uploading all of the information for direct deposit. So we're mindful of all the different timelines when it comes to
processing the payroll. And while payroll isn't just paying employees, uh we also have to pay federal and state taxes that must be filed weekly. We must balance those payments to quarterly reports with the IRS and the Commonwealth Massachusetts. Uh the
payments for optional insuranceances, garnishments dues, and deferred withholdings must be paid on a weekly or monthly basis. And we also prepare all of the annual W2 forms for every employee. Uh we also do the accounts payable
checks and EFT and ACI, which is automated clearing information. It's like a credit card payment. um for every vendor and every week there can be uh anywhere between 200 and 500 checks that get processed through the office. Uh we
print and mail everyone uh and process the online transactions in the timely manner. Uh I have oversight of all the debt in the city and I make sure all the principal and interest payments are paid on time to avoid any late fees. Annual
reports are required to remain in good standing and periodic reviews, especially when borrowing new money, are required to verify our bond rating. Uh the city is currently rated AA minus AAA is the highest you can get. Uh and it is
a stable rating for the city. Uh the city has approximately 11 million uh in debt inside the borrowing limit, which is 5% of the city's equalized valuation. uh as uh noted by do and then we have
approximately 55.5 million outside of the debt limit. Uh all general liability and auto insuranceances are overseen by my department. We handle all claims made against the city and often act as a liaison between the public and the
insurance company for any claims that are submitted. We process all life insurance claims made against the city's group life insurance plan. Uh we also reconcile or I reconcile all of the bank statements to the general ledger. Uh
there are currently 37 regular accounts, 22 escrow accounts and the retirement office account. Bank deposits are made by the assistant treasurer to maintain the separation of uh checks and balances. Uh the treasurer also takes in cash, checks, and online payments from
every department in the city. All deposits are verified and a receipt is given to everyone as proof of that deposit. Uh I'm responsible for all parking meter receipts. I must maintain a de detailed cash book showing which depart
department turned over funds, what the funds were for, and what depart sorry, what account they were deposited into. Uh I have to maintain a warrant sheet that provides a check and balance with the auditor for all of the uh accounts payable processing.
Uh I process all the wire transfers that go out. All of the AC and EFT payments are uh approved by me. I keep a schedule of all transfers between the accounts. Uh I pay all the department invoices,
any bills that come in. We maintain the postage machine and add funds when the balance is low and we notify departments of any online transactions that need to be reported. And then on the collector's side of things, uh we get the file uh
from the city assessor and have to prepare the real estate and personal property tax bills for printing and processing and munice. Um, and then make sure we get the uh affidavit of mailing is proof that all the the bills were mailed from the
deputy collector. Uh, prepare the real estate and personal property tax bills for uploading to the city website for online payments. Uh, same with the excise bills. Once the file comes in from the RMV to the city assessor, we then have to upload everything into
Munis to accept the payments. We collect payments at the window for the real estate, personal property, excise tax, parking tickets, as well as all the utility bills. All payments funnel through uh my department printing reports daily from the city's online bill pay system so that those payments
can be entered as received as well. Uh those tests are per primarily performed by staff. When we're short, I'm out on the desk doing those. Uh lockbox payments come in from Core Logic and Loretta. They're the bank's uh clearing
house. So, all escro payments come through that. Um we have to maintain all the commitment books and warrants and use a spreadsheet. So, that make sure we're balancing our numbers to the general ledger. Uh we have to approve any refunds for overpayments made to
real estate, personal property or motor vehicle excise. Uh we have to maintain files regarding bankruptcy filings. We review permit and license applications to be sure applicants are in good standing so that they can get their permits. Uh process and maintain all tax
titles and communicate with the tax title attorneys for any property that's in the foreclosure process and enter into payment agreements with delinquent taxpayers. And then separately, I provide detailed pay reports for various departments to
assist with their annual reports or grant reimbursements, working with outside vendors and employees on any payroll issues, optional benefits, or deferred compensation. Uh, oftentimes called out to deescalate tent situations with angry taxpayers at
the window. And I've also been assisting community community development planning during their transition period since I have the background in that department. So that's in a nutshell what takes place in my office. Said in a nutshell
um councilman. Um any questions? Sure. Thank you. Um, no, thank you. That we know it's a lot that you're and how important your departments are and that is a really great summation of that work. Um, and by all accounts, I think
from my end, you've really served the city well in all of your capacities uh with your finalist. So, thank you for that also. Thank you. Um, but since you are here um I assume do want to continue on.
Wonderful. That was the easy one. Um you you had you talked about some of the things that you know with your checks and balances and accounts and stuff. Um do you feel like you you have the systems in place you need? I think of like you know maybe viable the health insurance a while back or do you feel
that you know things are working the way they can operating the best we have the resources you need within I I think we're getting there. I think we have the majority of things where we're doing the uh direct deposit advice by email. Now, that was a big thing we
wanted to implement. Um the the thing that is is always a stickler with people is the water and sewer trash bills. Not able to upload those into our online payment system. So, people have to have a physical bill in order to make that
payment so they know the amount. Um, I believe that with the upgrade that is currently going on and uh, Bob O'Keefe could speak to that. He's been kind of spearheading that, but I think it's about a six-month process, but I believe
the file that will be generated once those upgrades are complete, we'll be able to upload those payments. So, I then we'll be really in in good shape with our online systems where we need to be. Great. Um,
And then I guess on that that similar note, the chairman referenced that you're in one of the few unique positions that are appointed by the council and and really effectively work for and and report to the council as part of the check and balance within the larger city picture.
Do you feel that you have the support you need from the council that you have the access and communications you need with the council? Uh or is there anything you'd say, you know, to room for improvement or or that you're looking for? I don't I don't think so. I think uh you've all made yourselves
available when needed and you know we're I've got a great team working with me and then working with the auditing office. You know, we just we all work really well together. So, we haven't had any issues that require that kind of intervention. So, it it's worked out quite well.
Great. Thank you. That's it for me. All right. Well, um thank you for coming. You're welcome. you know, after hearing everything that you do, and I will be honest with you, I rewatch this on YouTube because it's a lot. Um, I feel like we can give you
more. I don't know. Yeah, just a couple more things to do. Um, so, so I have a couple questions. All right. Um, what do you see as the biggest financial challenge or opportunity
Gardner is facing in the near future? I think it's just the the unknown rising costs for construction and how we're really going to fund those issues. Um, anything that is s water sewer related,
it's borrowing outside the debt limit. It's when we're getting on the inside of that 5% of the equalized valuation, we have to be mindful of what projects we're advancing. And uh I I think that and that and the culture of the rising
interest rates too are are going to impact any future borrowing. The uh the first I don't know I the last two borrowings we did we saw an
increase in the rates. We had been very low. I want to say like between 1.2 two and and 2.5 and we've crept up over 4% now because of the economy the way it is and you know until we see a change in
that I'd be hesitant to borrow money you know might be looking at other alternatives for u financing rather than just a bond sample and then um earlier this year uh
there was a reporting of a discrepancy Mhm. Um between your office and the auditor's office. Um has the issue been resolved? Yeah. You joined the health trust balance? Yes. Yes. Yeah. I there was confusion over
funds missing. It was just the auditor didn't have the report. I didn't realize he used that report to populate his figure. So, it was just a a miscommunication on our part. And now that I know how important it is to him
to get that, he gets that on a regular basis. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. Um I I don't think I have any other questions. I just want to, you know, say thank you. Thank you for coming. Um thank you for everything you do. Oh, thank you. Um I don't know if we can give you any
anything else. Um but um thank you. That is all. Okay. Thank you. The uh the next item 11621, that item right there, we just received on Monday. Um it's literally right inside of that window. Therefore, we'll
just go ahead and we'll put more time on that. Sure. No texture. No texture on that right there. Um designations as well. All right. Discussion. Discussion of the appointees. All right.
114 A7. A measure confirming the mayor's appointment of C hyance to position of sealer of weights in measures for term expiring January 16, 2028. I'll move to recommend to the full council the measure be confirmed.
Second. All right. Um motion made by council Hegland, seconded by Chair Heath to recommend that mayor's appointment. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say I. I those both say no.
Motion pass. All right. Both um both the next items 1151 and 11617. Those items right there we have asked for more time. There's no discussion. Correct. I agree. No, I think you're you're right
to ask for those writeups and and more time. So, thank you. I agree. All right. So, All right. Um, item 11620, [Music] a measure to elect a city treasurer and city collector of taxes effective August
4th, 2025. Yeah. I'll move to recommend to the full council that this measure be adopted um and and Jen be nominated for that role. All right. So, you're um making a motion to support
agenda or current. Yep. And that position again and recommend that to the full council. Okay. Uh motion made by councelor Heglin, seconded by I'm sorry, second. Um a motion made by councelor Heglin, seconded by Chair Heek to recommend a man's appointment. Is there any
discussion? No discussion. All right. All those in favor say I. I. Those oppos say no. Motion passes. And then item 11621, a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Richard Rocks to position of clinic
board member. Um, again, this is another item that we go ahead and ask for more time. Agreed. So, I had all my papers nicely in order and then I started flipping through them. All right. All right. So, before we adjourn, um I'd
like to thank Council Hegel. Uh, I want to thank you for all your work that you've done um in making this committee receive all the necessary information from the mayor and remains consistent in reviewing my appointments. Um,
you've pointed out some discrepancies, things, and I just want to go ahead and go say thank you. I appreciate that. Um, and it helps my job a little bit easier. Um, so again, thank you. Thank you. Um to help with this, I'll be
preparing a draft uh rules for the committee to review and vote on at our next meeting. Um this has been discussed before and I believe it's time we take formal action. All right, with that said, motion to adjurnn. So moved. I'll second.
Second.