McDaniel in Montville
Montville
Town Councilor Thomas McNally, the Republican seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Mayor Ronald McDaniel, has plenty of criticism for the job the incumbent is doing. Yet when he had the chance to make his case in a face-to-face debate, Mr. McNally declined. That should leave voters questioning whether the challenger is ready for the hot seat that is the mayor’s chair.
Mr. McNally, 37, did have an explanation. He said mostly partisans attend the debates, meaning they have little if any influence on the election. That rationale does not hold up. The Day records the debates and offers them for viewing on theday.com, reaching a much wider audience than the few partisans in the room.
The fact is that Mayor McDaniel, 51, had a solid first term. Working with the Town Council, he has held municipal budget increases to an average of 1.2 percent annually. Challenges facing the town have been significant.
His administration has been repairing an infrastructure that deteriorated when past administrations placed short-term savings ahead of long-term needs.
Post-recession lowered property values dropped assessments and tax revenues. Meanwhile, the Mohegan tribe continues to take more land into trust, and off the tax rolls.
On that latter point, Mr. McNally said as mayor he would “sit down and talk” with tribal leaders to seek funding to make up for some of that tax revenue loss. That’s worth a try, we suppose. But Mayor McDaniel has the more practical approach; lobby the legislature to provide a greater share of the Mohegan-Pequot grant money, underwritten by slot revenues, to the host town of Montville.
Under Mayor McDaniel, Montville has boosted the fund balance— its rainy day fund — to $8.5 million, representing 14 percent of general expenditures. It stood at 4 percent when he came to office. Accountants consider 8 percent to 9 percent healthy. It may be time to use some of that surplus to hold down taxes.
Mr. McNally contends Montville needs to run more efficiently. As mayor, he said he would actively recruit businesses to come to the town, while keeping communications open with local business people.
It is all very rhetorical. The challenger has not made the case for change. Ronald McDaniel has made his case for re-election. He receives The Day’s endorsement.