Fiscal 6 - The Fiscal 6 Project

This is the home of the Fiscal 6 Project.

Listen to the July 1, 2025 interview with Mayor Michael Nicholson on any device. CLICK PLAY.

Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson has been the City of Gardner’s Chief Executive in fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023,2024, and 2025. On July 1, 2025, Gardner entered the 6th fiscal year Mike Nicholson will serve as Mayor.

This website will explore in detail the changes and successes which have occurred in the City of Gardner over this period of time. We will include questions asked of the Mayor and his answers during a 2 hour interview on July 1, 2025, a 90 minute interview on July 17, 2025, and various past interviews.

We will also embed various relevant videos on the Fiscal Year specific pages. Alphabetical Index

This is the home of the Fiscal 6 Project, Gardner Massachusetts. …- Find out what the Google AI analysis said – jump to that section on this page.

Key Findings of the Fiscal 6 Project

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.

We found success in all categories which are listed on this website.

Alphabetical Index

Improving City Services and properties in the City: 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.

People and Transparency: 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.

Proactive Planning: 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.

Modernization and Improvements: To bring the City in to the 21^st 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.

As Gardner enters Fiscal 6 of Mayor Michael Nicholson. (Fiscal Year 2026) on 7-1-25, the achievements of the past 5+ years are expected to propel a positive trajectory forward. This is the Fiscal 6 Project.

Gardner Magazine Publisher Werner Poegel spoke with Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson on the first day of the 6th fiscal year. Listen to the entire interview on any device, CLICK PLAY.

Topics covered in the Fiscal 6 Project interviews included: Mayor’s qualifications, training, and passions – Aesthetic Improvements, Background and Approach, Basic City Services, Blighted or Private Properties, Blighted or Unused City Properties, Business Vacancies, City Employees, City Transparency, Downtown Revitalization, Education Facilities, Education Improvements, Elder Support, Environment and Energy, Endorsements and Recognition, Fiscal Responsibility, Health-Related, Housing and Real Estate, Industrial Space, Infrastructure Improvements, Internet and Connectivity, Legal Updates for the City, Non-Profits in Gardner, Out-of-the-Box Thinking, Parking in Gardner, Patriotism and Ceremony, People are Policy, Promoting the City, Public Safety, Public Transportation, Recreation and Open Space, Roads and Infrastructure, Veterans Services, and Water & Sewer.

In July 2023, Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson summed up what Gardner is all about. This is what he said, “Now, you can always come and pull up a chair here in the Chair City. This is going to be a great place with the amount of residential growth that we have, the population growth that we’ve seen, and the interest in the community. And that’s something that’s very special with Gardner, is that people take a genuine care and interest as to what’s going on here in their backyard. And you don’t get that everywhere. So if you’re looking for a place that you know you’ll be supported, you know that you’ll be heard for what you have to say, and you know that you can find a place that you’d feel proud to call your home, that’s Gardner, Massachusetts.”

The City of Gardner has a rich history of chair manufacturing and furniture continues to be made in Gardner today.

Alphabetical Index to the Fiscal 6 Project website and its pages

Google AI Analysis of the Fiscal 6 Project Website is here in a complete Deep Dive podcast, Listen on any device, CLICK PLAY

Google concluded: “So you’ve just taken a deep dive into Gardner, Massachusetts, a city that has truly redefined what’s possible in local governance. Yeah, from those fiscally sound practices that just stunning return on grant funding to the proactive modernization of services and that deep, deep commitment to community wellbeing. Gardner is genuinely setting a new standard. As the mayor put it, you can always come and pull up a chair here in the Chair City. I love that quote. It really speaks to the place they’ve built based on the belief that residents should feel supported, heard, and just proud to call it home. So as you reflect on Gardner’s success story, this city that transformed itself by being both incredibly financially shrewd and deeply people-focused may be consider, what bold proactive steps could your own community take to build a stronger tomorrow? And what surprising aha moments might be waiting just around the corner if you just start looking for them?