Key Points
- Less than a year into her Wilton tenure, CFO Dawn Savo is pursuing Hamden’s finance director position.
- Savo described her Wilton work as accomplished, while the town continues addressing audit findings.
- Her appointment awaits a full council vote, and Wilton officials have not confirmed her resignation status.
Why It Matters: Savo’s departure would add to turnover in Wilton’s senior leadership as the town works to strengthen financial reporting and controls.
Less than a year after joining Wilton as its chief financial officer, Dawn Savo has been recommended to become Hamden’s permanent finance director, telling officials there Wednesday evening that she believes she has accomplished what she was hired to do in Wilton.
Savo attended an Oct. 28 special meeting of Hamden’s Legislative Council Committee of the Whole in person at that town’s Memorial Town Hall. Following an executive session where the committee interviewed her, Savo was publicly identified as Mayor Adam Sendroff’s recommended candidate for the position, introduced to the public and asked about her experience and interest in the job.
The committee voted unanimously to accept the mayor’s recommendation and send its report to the full Legislative Council for consideration of her appointment. Final council approval remains pending.
Asked Thursday whether Savo had resigned or given notice that she intended to leave Wilton, First Selectman Toni Boucher did not directly answer.
“Dawn has spoken with the First Selectman’s Office regarding her professional plans. However, the process in Hamden is still ongoing, and we believe it would be premature and unfair to Dawn to comment publicly on her employment status or future plans at this time,” Boucher wrote in response to GOOD Morning Wilton’s questions.
“We will provide an update when there is further information appropriate for public release.”
GMW has also reached out to Savo for comment and will update this story with her response.
Savo began work in Wilton on Dec. 8, 2025, succeeding former CFO Dawn Norton. Her departure would make her the fifth senior town official to leave since Boucher took office in November 2023, following Chris Burney, Norton, Matt Knickerbocker and Frank Smeriglio.
It would also leave Wilton seeking its second permanent CFO since Norton’s departure in 2025.
Savo: “What I Was Asked to Do There I Have Achieved”
Describing approximately 30 years of municipal finance experience, Savo walked Hamden officials through her employment history, including her current position in Wilton.
She attributed Wilton’s delayed FY25 audit to staffing turnover and a failed implementation of the town’s MUNIS financial software, saying she helped the town work toward cleaning up that process.
“And we filed an audit last week for FY25. So I feel like what I was asked to do there I have achieved,” Savo said. “In less than a year we cleaned that up, filed the audit and maintained their Moody’s rating.”
The completed audit identified two material weaknesses involving Wilton’s financial statement close process and capital asset maintenance. At the Board of Finance’s Audit Remediation and Financial Reporting Subcommittee meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27, Savo presented a Corrective Action Plan that identified her as the person responsible for implementing all actions, due in June 2027.
At Hamden’s meeting, Savo was asked why she wanted to work there at this point in her career. She described an opportunity to tackle financial challenges and potentially finish her career there.
“I enjoy challenge, and I feel strongly that Hamden deserves to have their audits completed, they deserve to have their finance department improved, they deserve to have the information that they need to make decisions,” she said.
Savo also said she was “very fond of the administration” in Hamden.
“I’m excited to take this step in my career and maybe this be the last step in my career, to address all the challenges that are happening here and be a part of those solutions,” she said.
Council members offered favorable assessments following their interview with Savo. Councilwoman Grace Teodosio said the candidate understood the challenges facing Hamden.
“Please have confidence we have a gift at our table,” Teodosio said.
Another Potential Departure from Wilton Town Hall
The senior officials who have left during Boucher’s administration held responsibilities spanning construction management, finance, public works and town administration.
Burney, a former public works and facilities director who subsequently served in a part-time construction management role, retired in June 2024. Norton resigned as CFO in 2025 amid scrutiny of her simultaneous employment in Wyoming. Knickerbocker left his position as Wilton’s first town administrator, while Smeriglio announced in April 2026 that he was leaving his position as DPW director and town engineer for a private-sector engineering job.
Savo’s proposed move would take her to a town confronting its own financial reporting challenges.
Hamden was formally designated a Tier I municipality under the oversight of the state Municipal Finance Advisory Commission in June, at Sendroff’s request. According to the commission’s Sept. 23 draft minutes, Hamden’s FY24 and FY25 audits remained overdue, and the mayor could not project submission dates.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Savo said she was excited to have been considered for the Finance Director position.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity here to work to restore public trust, get the audits completed that are past due, get your bond rating back and move the department forward. Get Hamden on the right track that it needs to be to move the town forward and address the needs of this town, or city,” she said.
One committee member offered this endorsement of Savo: “Your audit experience with other towns, helping them to catch up on their audits, is just what we need at this time. And so I’m really excited to welcome you and vote for you.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
