Candidate Submitted Bio
Prasad and his family have lived in Wilton for 18-plus years. He is passionate about helping Wilton grow and thrive by capitalizing on the unique characteristics which make it a special place to live, work and raise families.
Prasad has been active in the Wilton community. He currently serves as the chair of the Wilton Economic Development Commission. Previously, he served on the board of Wilton Soccer Association and as a volunteer with the Wilton Y Wahoos Swim Team.
Prasad is running for the BOF to bring transparency and rigor to Wilton’s finances. Prasad’s experience with financial planning, coupled with the ability to collaborate and build consensus, will be an asset for the BOF in developing a reasonable and sustainable mill rate.
Video Interview
Candidate Submitted Op-Ed
Preserve and Grow Wilton
I am proud to call Wilton home and am running for the Board of Finance because as an 18-plus-year Wilton resident, I am passionate about continuing to help Wilton grow by capitalizing on its unique characteristics that make our town a special place to live, work and raise families. My experience and proven track record in the areas of financial planning and analysis, budgeting, strategic planning, data analytics and ability to collaborate and build consensus are exactly what the Board of Finance needs to navigate the uncertainties that lie ahead.
My experience as the chair of Wilton’s Economic Development Commission, which plays an advisory role to the town in helping to grow a vibrant business climate, has given me an intimate understanding of how our town government works. This provides me the advantage of being able to contribute on day one as I will not require the learning curve that comes with serving for the first time.
I will take a resident-first approach and ensure that the decisions I support will keep in perspective the needs of all the voters and strive for a balance between budget and capital needs and a reasonable mill rate, while still being mindful of the importance of Wilton’s commercial tax base that pays more than 20% of taxes collected. Continued reasonable growth is essential to maintaining a reasonable mill rate while funding infrastructure and desired amenity improvements.
Over the last decade we enjoyed an extended period of low tax increases, low inflation, and low interest rates. However, we are at a point of inflection where the inflation we all have now been experiencing will start to have an adverse impact on our taxes.
The challenges will be:
- Higher BOS/BOE expenses
- Higher debt servicing costs
- Higher cost of new debt versus retiring debt
- Capital spending required for upgrade and upkeep of facilities like school buildings and other town owned infrastructure
- Results of the revaluation which will reflect the increase in home values and the decrease in commercial office building values
The factors in our favor are:
- An already shining school system — that we need to continue to support
- A triple-A debt rating, Moody’s highest — that we can leverage
- The existing prudent budgeting and capital planning discipline — that we need to continue to improve upon
- The thoughtful grand list growth strategies contained in our Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) — that we need to continue to support to drive new revenues
- The continued high demand for Wilton homes and its positive impact on home values — a trend we need to maintain
For the Board of Finance, the critical tasks will be:
- Recognizing the priorities of all residents through active listening and engagement
- Adequately funding the school system for growth
- Adopting strong 5-, 10-, 20-year capital plans to support our infrastructure
- Funding the next two phases of master planning — Cannondale to ensure the preservation of this unique historical area, and amenities planning.
Due to the sheer number of variables and the some of the headwinds, the work is by no means easy, but with careful planning, prioritization and execution, the BOF can ensure our town stays attractive to current residents, businesses and for future residents and businesses.
I will bring diversity of thought, prudent fiscal responsibility, a sustainable growth mindset and an understanding of how Wilton’s government functions to the Board of Finance to enable the development of a budget that supports a reasonable mill rate.
I hope I have earned your trust and ask for your vote on Nov. 7.
Video Clips
What motivates you to run for the Board of Finance? What contributed — what’s happening now the BOF, with town finances, and given your experience on the Econ. Dev. Comm. to running?
What do you think of the public response to events at last May’s Annual Town Meeting? What do you think the public perception of the BOF is?
Is there anything you’d do differently with communication with the public?
What do you think about surveying what residents want, and about the Board of Finance survey from the last budget process?
Are there any procedural changes to get more input or involvement from residents? The Town Meeting on a weekend vs. a weekday evening? Change the 15% turnout threshold?
What are the biggest financial issues facing the town?
What about issues being discussed recently by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance (school infrastructure repairs)?
Past years budgets have been tight — flat, minimal increases — but now both the BOS and BOE are predicting much higher increases. What do you say to voters about that? Are there other places you think could have been reduced or other savings found?
This year, the town is facing a property value revaluation. Any predictions how that will impact the fiscal year 2025 budget?
With your experience on Economic Development Commission, are there ideas you have for Wilton to generate more revenues? People talk about a vision, is there something you can advise or suggest? What would you like to see changed or focused on?
Do you think that the Board of Ed could do a better job doing better with less?
During last year’s Town Meeting, the Board of Education chair gave her budget presentation and some BOF members and residents who criticized her presentation as being inflammatory. Do you think she deserved that criticism?
When it comes to the Board of Education budget, there’s always the question of how we compare to other towns and districts with spending versus student performance. With regard to the Wilton district’s performance, do we get what we pay for?
What’s your message to voters about why you deserve their vote?