BY THOMAS BREEN
A month after the Board of Alders created a pathway for city department heads to request permission to live outside of New Haven, the city’s police chief, controller, assessor, youth and recreation director, and building official have all applied for residency-requirement waivers.
Those five applications are included as communications on the agenda for Monday’s full Board of Alders meeting. The requests will next head to an aldermanic committee for public hearings before returning to the full board for final votes.
The newly submitted applications show that Police Chief David Zannelli would like to continue living in Mystic, City Controller Michael Gormany would like to continue living in Branford, Acting City Assessor Alex Pullen would like to continue living in North Haven, Youth & Recreation Department Director Gwendolyn Williams would like to return to her long-time home in West Haven, and Building Official Robert Dillon would like to return to his long-time home in North Haven.
Each application was submitted to the alders by Chief of Staff Sean Matteson, and each requests “an exception to the City Charter requirement concerning resident elector status” for the relevant appointed official.
Click here, here, here, here, and here to read the cover letters for each application.
These five applications represent the first to be submitted since the Board of Alders voted on June 1 to institute a case-by-case waiver system to the city residency requirement that currently impacts appointed city officials. The legislation outlines criteria for the personnel director to consider as part of the review process for the residency waiver — including whether or not the appointee would suffer a “substantial hardship” by having to move to New Haven.
The applications also come after Mayor Justin Elicker tried and failed to remove residency requirements for city department heads during the 2023 charter revision process. As part of that process, however, charter revisers — and the voting public — signed off on moving residency requirements from the charter and into the city’s code of ordinances, thereby creating a potential pathway for alders to amend local law to allow department heads to live elsewhere. Which is exactly what Elicker and Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow proposed in April and the full Board of Alders approved in June.
Gormany and Pullen have long worked for city government in “acting” capacities because they live outside of New Haven.
According to Matteson’s letter to the alders in support of Gormany’s request, Gormany has lived in Branford since 2005, “where he maintains a financial and personal interest. Maintaining an additional residence in New Haven solely to fulfill the resident elector requirement would lead to economic hardship for Mr. Gormany in the additional costs it would impose.”
Gormany worked for the city from 2004 to 2024, including as budget director and city controller. He returned to the City of New Haven earlier this year after a stint as West Haven’s budget director. “Throughout his time in the city, Mr. Gormany has demonstrated excellent knowledge and understanding of public accounting, auditing, budget analysis, internal auditing, and other complex and diverse financial issues relevant to City operations,” Matteson wrote.
Pullen has served as acting city tax assessor since December 2011. “His dedication, expertise, and commitment to the betterment of our City have been exemplary,” Matteson wrote. He also holds the highly specialized qualification of the Certified Connecticut Municipal Assessor Level II designation.
“However, it is also pertinent to note that Mr. Pullen’s family home is situated in North Haven,” Matteson continued. “This home has been in Mr. Pullen’s [family] for three generations and represents a significant financial and personal investment. Selling this home would result in significant economic and personal loss for Mr. Pullen.”
Zannelli has worked for the city’s police department since 2008, rising the ranks from officer to sergeant to lieutenant to captain to assistant chief to acting chief. He was sworn in as the city’s newest permanent chief in May. “His dedication, expertise, and commitment to the betterment of our City have been exemplary and demonstrate the City’s commitment to retaining and promoting from within,” Matteson wrote.
“However, it is also pertinent to note that Mr. Zannelli currently owns a home in Mystic, Connecticut where he currently raises his three school-aged children. One of his children has never attended a different school while another has attended the same school since kindergarten. Selling this home would result in an economic and personal loss for Mr. Zannelli and his family.”
Williams has worked for the city since 2007, working her way up through the ranks of city government to the role of youth and recreation director in August 2020. “In this role, Ms. Williams plays a crucial part in nurturing the well-being of the youth of the City of New Haven,” Matteson wrote.
“However, it is also relevant to note that Ms. Williams has owned a home in West Haven dating back to when she was originally hired by the City (and did not have a residency elector requirement applicable to her). Upon her promotion to the role of Director of Youth & Recreation, the prospect of selling her home came at a personal and financial cost. Regardless, Ms. Williams demonstrated her commitment to the city by renting in the City of New Haven to meet the Charter’s residency requirement. Naturally, this continues to bear a personal and financial cost to Ms. Williams and her family.”
And Dillon has worked for the city since 2017, and was appointed as the director of the Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement in April 2023. “In this position,” Matteson wrote, “Mr. Dillon plays a crucial role in maintaining high quality building standards across the City of New Haven to the benefit of city residents in addition to contributing to the overall growth of the City.” He also possesses a “highly specialized certification” as a State of Connecticut building official.
“Mr. Dillon has owned a home in North Haven prior to his appointment as the Director of Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement, representing an important personal and financial interest for him,” Matteson continued. “Nonetheless, Mr. Dillon demonstrated a deep commitment to the City by maintaining a second residence in New Haven to comply with the residency requirement. However, doing so imposes an additional financial and personal cost to Mr. Dillon.
Matteson concluded each of the five letters by asking the alders to grant “an exception to the resident elector requirement” for the relevant department head, in recognition of their “exceptional contributions” and also to “ensure the continued success and advancement of New Haven.”