To the Editor:
Montville residents should be deeply concerned about the recent actions taken by Mayor Lenny Bunnell—actions that reflect a troubling pattern of poor judgment, lack of transparency, and disregard for fiscal responsibility.
After giving away 300 acres of town land to the Mohegan Tribe—land that is now non-taxable—Mayor Bunnell’s administration has followed up with a budget that burdens taxpayers with a 2.5% tax increase (1.1 mills). And now, he’s tripled down with another reckless and costly decision: the unnecessary relocation of the Registrar of Voters office from Montville Town Hall to a separate building on the Town Hall campus.
The reason given for this move is “increased accessibility,” but many believe it’s a personal and retaliatory move cloaked in a shallow justification. What’s worse is the staggering cost and disruption it has caused. Renovating the old Visiting Nurses Association building required tearing down interior walls, installing alarms and electronic locks, and even blasting ledge to install a new sidewalk. That project went so poorly that the cement truck delivering concrete collapsed the septic tank—prompting an unplanned and expensive replacement. Where was the oversight?
Functionally, this move compromises election operations. The Registrars’ office was strategically located near the Town Clerk’s office, which handles absentee ballots and stores early voting ballots. All three election officials formally objected to the move, citing concerns about disrupting the election process. Their warnings were ignored. Now, the certified site for early voting and same-day registration has been threatened with being relocated, and state law requires notifying every voter of that change—another avoidable cost to the taxpayers.
As of June 2, the new office was still not fully operational. Voter registration cards hadn’t even been moved yet, delaying vital tasks like registering new voters and removing outdated records. This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s voter disenfranchisement.
The Registrars of Voters filed a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) in an effort to stop this ill-conceived move. Unfortunately, the complaint was dismissed—not because it lacked merit, but because the move had not yet occurred at the time and was considered “speculative.” That’s hardly a vindication of the Mayor’s actions.
This isn’t leadership. It’s an example of how centralized power and misguided priorities are driving up costs, disrupting vital services, and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Montville residents must wake up and demand accountability before this reckless trend becomes irreversible.
Thomas J. McNally
McNally is the Montville Republican Town Committee Chairman