As Knickerbocker Completes First Year as Town Administrator, Has The New Position Benefited The Town?

Matt Knickerbocker recently reached an important milestone in his role as Wilton’s Town Administrator: he cleared the one-year hurdle.

Knickerbocker is the first person to serve in the position which the Board of Selectmen (BOS) agreed to create in early 2022. After a lengthy search, the BOS hired Knickerbocker for a three-year term, which started Sept. 7, 2022.

GOOD Morning Wilton is taking a look at the impact Knickerbocker is having in the context of what was expected for the role. This story is based on:

• A memo, report and presentation delivered by Knickerbocker to the Board of Selectmen on Oct. 2, in which he re-capped the past year and discussed several ongoing projects
• A follow-up interview with Knickerbocker conducted by GMW
• A series of emails between GMW and First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice
• A number of other documents and press releases posted on the Town website

Role Definition

The position of town administrator was intended to relieve the first selectperson of many day-to-day operations and administrative duties in order to focus on strategic issues and longterm goals.

The rationale for creating the new position focused on what Vanderslice described as the increasing demands on the first selectperson’s time, which had begun even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Vanderslice and the BOS also recognized an increasing need for the first selectperson to be actively involved in economic development efforts as well as regional- and state-level advocacy.

To enable that, the town administrator was expected to serve as “a professional manager… responsible for administrative functions relative to the daily operation of departments under the supervision of the First Selectperson, including Finance, Human Resources, Information Services, Land Use, Assessment, Tax, Town Clerk, Human Services, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation,” according to the job description for the role.

Vanderslice asserted a town administrator would provide important continuity in the management of the Town. Because the position is not political (as in an elected office), management of key departments and functions would operate consistently amid changes in Wilton’s elected leadership.

Vanderslice also believed the addition of a town administrator would potentially result in a broader pool of candidates for first selectperson.

The case Vanderslice made was compelling and directly addressed any concern that the town administrator’s position was an unnecessary layer added to the town government. Only a handful of residents raised cost concerns.

Although the first selectperson has higher authority, the town administrator has a higher salary (Knickerbocker’s salary is $190,549).

When the BOS deliberated about creating the position, Vanderslice argued for a reduction in her own salary, based on her expectation that her time commitment would be reduced. In anticipation of hiring for the new position in FY’23, the BOS budgeted for a Vanderslice’s salary at $120,000, reduced from $142,999 the previous year.

The Transition

Knickerbocker said he’s grateful for the opportunity to serve as town administrator and the warm welcome he received upon arrival.

“This is a wonderful community, and my experiences in this first year here have been tremendously positive,” he told the selectmen on Oct. 2. “The residents of Wilton and our employees have been universally welcoming, and I have greatly enjoyed this experience.”

“A great deal of my time in this first year was devoted to getting to know staff, understanding the scope of their responsibilities… and working to provide resources to address challenges they face in specific areas,” he continued.

Knickerbocker brought significant experience to the position. He served 13 years as first selectman for the Town of Bethel (and on the Bethel Board of Education before that, including a term as chairperson). Prior to his municipal experience, he also held executive roles in the private sector.

The Year in Review

In a recap of his first-year Knickerbocker highlighted the projects that have been completed and other ongoing initiatives:

• A new electricity supply agreement that resulted in total cost savings for the Town of over $57,000, by obtaining lower rates and avoiding a significant planned rate hike by the previous supplier, Eversource
• A new risk management program and a comprehensive insurance review which led to a new broker and insurance portfolio, with year-to-date savings of about $95,000 year-to-date. The process also identified areas where the Town is under-insured, which Knickerbocker is working to rectify.
• An assessment of cyber-security risks and readiness which “revealed numerous strengths, but also several critical vulnerabilities, which are being addressed as quickly as possible”  
• An Information Technology review, including hardware, software, network components, budget effectiveness and personnel skills (a final report is expected this month)
• Conversion of financial software to the Munis system, scheduled for July 2024, along with a new system for the budget process for both the Town and for the Wilton school district
• Plans for online permitting, which will interface with the new Munis system. Knickerbocker said he expects to bring the system online next summer.
• An agreement with Frontier Communications to provide broadband internet service to the Transfer Station, along with new capability for residents to pay for services with credit and debit cards
• A food scrap collection pilot program underway at the Transfer Station, with support from Wilton Go Green and HRRA
• A bid to participate in a state program to install a solar farm on unused land at the Transfer Station. If successful, Wilton would benefit from lease payments of about $25,000 per year — as well as reduce the Town’s carbon footprint.

Knickerbocker has also gotten involved with in myriad of other matters, such as re-thinking potential changes in a lease agreement for Ambler Farm, responding to FOIA requests, and even some sprucing up at Town Hall.

“I believe very strongly that presenting a professional appearance to taxpayers can have a positive effect on how residents perceive the effectiveness of their local government,” Knickerbocker wrote in a memo to the BOS. “It may also affect how willing voters are to approve budget requests… I see an opportunity to improve the appearance of our buildings, both internally and externally, through an increase of focus on general maintenance within current budget parameters.”

Toward that end, Parks & Recreation and DPW crews are now occasionally tasked with simple repairs or maintenance work at municipal buildings. Going forward, Knickerbocker hopes to enlist school maintenance personnel as well.

“Currently, the Town has no dedicated building maintenance staff; virtually all repairs or upgrades that are needed must be performed by outside contractors, which can be quite expensive,” Knickerbocker continued. “However, Wilton Public Schools does have a dedicated building maintenance team, and [DPW Director Frank Smeriglio] and I have proposed sharing the expense of this group with Wilton Public Schools to have them perform routine maintenance and simple repairs in town buildings. I have spoken with Superintendent Smith about this idea, and he is open to it. “

With cost savings a key theme in Knickerbocker’s Oct. 2 presentation to the BOS, GMW asked Knickerbocker if he considers cost savings to be his top priority.

“Cost savings came about as part of the overarching goal of improving efficiency in government,” Knickerbocker responded. “In the process of looking for ways to make things work better, I came across these [cost savings] — the low-hanging fruit opportunities — and these are things I have strong background in.”

Having a “holistic” perspective across the various departments that report to him, Knickerbocker views cost savings as “part and parcel to the goal of improving efficiencies”.

Vanderslice’s Assessment

Vanderslice had high expectations for the town administrator — a post which she said would bring Wilton to “the next level of modern municipal government” — and believes the decision to hire Knickerbocker has been clearly validated.

“Wilton struck a home run with Matt,” Vanderslice wrote in an email to GMW. “He didn’t just have the experience… we knew that his style and approach was consistent with the community and employees and he would fit in well.”

Vanderslice says there is “no question” about the benefits of the town administrator position and Knickerbocker’s value — particularly when it comes to the notion of continuity of government.

“[There is] no question the town, employees, and Toni Boucher will see the value of Matt’s role with the upcoming transition,” Vanderslice stated.

Vanderslice will be leaving office when her term ends Nov. 30, as she did not run for re-election. Boucher is running unopposed for the first selectman’s seat.

“[Boucher] will be able to rely on Matt for recent history and his detailed acquired knowledge of how Wilton’s municipal government now operates,” she continued. “Plus, Matt has leadership experience with the various municipal groups of which [Wilton is] a member and she will be participating or relying upon, including the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG), Housatonic Regional Recovery Authority (HRRA), and CT Council of Small Towns.”

She also believes Knickerbocker has successfully enabled her to focus on key initiatives.

“One year in, what was expected in terms of Matt[‘s] and my focus has played out,” she wrote. “It is visible in the items he has [accomplished] and the initiatives I have moved forward and accomplished over the last year. All of that could not have happened if it was just one person.”

It is less clear whether the addition of a town administrator is having the intended result of broadening the pool of potential candidates for first selectperson, with only one candidate (Boucher) in an uncontested race for the top office this November,

“I believe the jury is still out on that question,” Vanderslice wrote, noting that more time might be needed under post-pandemic conditions to know whether more candidates will ultimately be attracted to the position.