Finance chief to return to City Hall with lessons from West Haven stint - Yale Daily News

Finance chief returning to New Haven

Michael Gormany will return to New Haven City Hall in April as the city controller, this time in a permanent capacity, after spending two years as West Haven’s finance director. He is also seeking permission from the Board of Alders to continue living outside New Haven while serving in the role.

Gormany had previously worked in New Haven’s finance department for decades. He first started as an intern at age 17 and later joined the Department of Finance full time after graduating from Albertus Magnus College. He became budget director in 2017 and acting city controller in 2020.

His residency status had drawn attention before. In 2023, a local financial consultant sued the city, alleging that Gormany, then budget director and acting controller, and fellow city official Alex Pullen were violating New Haven’s charter by serving while living outside city limits. During that year’s charter revision process, Mayor Justin Elicker urged the Board of Alders to remove residency requirements for department heads, but the board did not do so, instead creating only a narrow exception for certain city coordinators.

Lessons from West Haven

Gormany said the earlier lawsuit had “nothing to do” with his decision to leave New Haven in 2024. He said returning to West Haven, where he grew up and attended school, was a chance to help his hometown. He said conversations with Mayor Dorinda Borer gave him the impression that the city needed an experienced person to improve processes, procedures and work with the state.

When Gormany arrived, West Haven was under the oversight of Connecticut’s Municipal Accountability Review Board, which reviewed the city’s monthly financial reports, annual budget and debt obligations and had authority over some contracts and bonds. In 2025, West Haven was released from that oversight.

Gormany said he plans to bring back lessons from that experience to New Haven, especially around efficiency. “My agenda is really just looking at some of the things that I learned here in West Haven, and certainly bringing those to New Haven,” he said.

Borer praised his role in helping organize West Haven’s finances and design internal controls. She said the pair presented regularly to the review board to show both their efforts and results, helping convince the state that the city could manage its finances independently.

Return driven by personal reasons

Gormany said his decision to return to New Haven was personal. He said New Haven could offer him some benefits under its charter that West Haven could not, and added that the job offered greater stability.

Elicker has also praised Gormany’s earlier work in New Haven. In a 2024 press release announcing his departure as budget director, the mayor credited him with helping guide the city through a major financial crisis. Elicker said New Haven had faced a $66 million budget deficit when he took office in 2020, but had since produced five straight years of budget surpluses.

Colleagues in West Haven said Gormany will be missed. Diana McManus of the West Haven finance department described him as “such a rock in the department,” saying he helped shape roles, offered ideas and shared deep experience. Gormany is set to assume his role as New Haven controller on April 6.