Letter To The Editor: The loss of civility and accountability

This past Friday night I attended the Short-Term Rental (STR) Subcommittee meeting at town hall. The subcommittee is considering increasing fees on STRs again, attempting to justify the increase with estimates on town resources used to manage STRs. According to state law, fees must be proportional to program costs, not used as revenue streams. To my knowledge, this is the first time such an attempt at quantifying fees has been made.

When I asked how these estimates were calculated, I was shouted at and told to “shut up” by Councilor Connerton while our town administrator and the other two council members (Welch and VonVillas) sat there in silence. Other attendees who were prepared to speak chose not to after this inappropriate outburst. Councilor Connerton effectively silenced public participation through intimidation.

This particular subcommittee consists solely of three council members (Connerton, Welch, and VonVillas). Their decisions are made without public voting, which is unprecedented. Every other town committee includes members of the public. With this committee, meetings are announced just 48 hours in advance, leaving little time for public preparation, and are conveniently unrecorded. Friday’s meeting was held at 6 p.m., seemingly designed to minimize public involvement. For these reasons alone, this committee should be dissolved immediately.

Unfortunately this is just a symptom of a larger problem. Our current council, driven by emotion, ideology, and special interests, has eroded trust in local government. It has reached the point where council members and the town administrator cannot answer straightforward questions and instead lash out at the public.

I am appalled by their behavior and their lack of transparency, civility, and accountability. They refuse to hold out town administration responsible for anything and seem unwilling to ask questions themselves. A great example of this is the school department recently being unable to account for $2 million in spending.

In contrast, my experience with Middletown’s employees—from the police and fire departments to public works, zoning, and the town clerk—has been nothing but positive. They’ve consistently been professional and courteous.

Middletown is on the brink of significant change, and we need stronger leadership. If our current town leaders and administrator cannot answer simple accounting questions, how can we trust them to lead a $210 million school project, the Town Center project, or anything else for that matter?

Our town is in desperate need of change. I ask for your vote on November 5th, and I urge you to support candidates like me who will listen to the public, ask the tough questions, hold our town officials accountable, and work to restore faith in our government.

Leonidas (Leon) Amarant

Candidate for Middletown Town Council