Residents of four communes — three in Ungheni district and one in neighboring Fălești — have only a few days to weigh in on a decision that would fold their town halls into one. The Sculeni Communal Council has formally opened, on the national platform particip.gov.md, the stage for collecting proposals on the voluntary merger of the communes of Sculeni, Cioropcani and Buciumeni (Ungheni district) with Taxobeni, a commune in Fălești district. The deadline: July 8.
What is being asked now, and how to take part
The notice, signed by the Sculeni Town Hall and Communal Council, marks the launch of the process of drafting the decision. Until July 8, citizens, civil-society representatives and “all interested parties” may submit proposals, comments and recommendations — by e-mail at primaria.sculeni@apl.gov.md, or in writing at the Sculeni town hall. The responsible person listed on particip.gov.md is Natalia Colesnic (tel. 068117721).
Every citizen’s opinion matters. Your involvement ensures the correct and transparent development of the commune. Sculeni Town Hall and Communal Council
Note: this is the first step, not the merger vote
It is worth understanding exactly what this stage is — and what it is not. For now, the council is collecting proposals on the drafting of the decision. Only after the draft is finalized will it be published in full, with all annexes, and residents will be able to voice their opinion in the public consultations proper, organized later. In other words, the window open now is one of early transparency — not the final decision that would turn the four town halls into one.
Four communes, about 7,400 residents
The Sculeni cluster is the second pole of merger in Ungheni district, alongside the block of ten localities around the municipality. Triunghi reported on its formation in June: Sculeni — the largest of the four and the only one with a border crossing into Romania — is drawing in Cioropcani, Buciumeni and Taxobeni. According to the 2024 census, the communes number 3,773, 1,567, 968 and 1,069 residents respectively — together about 7,400 people.
The merger rests on a threshold from the local-government reform concept: a town hall would need at least 3,000 residents to be considered viable, and for each resident of the resulting unit the state offers an incentive of 3,000 lei. The calendar is tight — voluntary-merger decisions must be adopted by the end of July 2026; after that, the reform moves into the stage of mandatory mergers, following the 2027 local elections.
Consultation or referendum
The current step brings something that was missing from the Sculeni file: an official, public channel with a deadline, placed on the national consultation platform, rather than second-hand accounts. Yet the question raised by the reform’s critics remains. The Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM) supports modernization but rejects forced amalgamation, demanding that when a town hall is to disappear, the community decide through a local referendum — not merely through a collection of proposals by e-mail.
For the people of Taxobeni, Cioropcani and Buciumeni, the concrete stake stays the same: their own town halls are set to close, and which locality becomes the administrative center of the new commune, and how they will reach public services, are not yet settled. Until then, the only window open right now closes on July 8.
This report is based on the official notice of the Sculeni Town Hall and Communal Council (June 28, 2026) and on the document posted on the national consultation platform particip.gov.md (no. 17112), which sets the proposal-collection period and contact channels. Population figures are from the National Bureau of Statistics (2024 census). The context of the reform and of the Sculeni cluster was previously documented by Triunghi.