Candidate Submitted Bio

Rudy is a 30-year Wilton resident who moved to Wilton for the best in class school system for his son.

Rudy has been involved in local activities including Cub Scouts, the Wilton Pension Committee and Temple B’nai Chaim Board. He has been the president of the Boy Scout Council and is currently a board member for both the CT Yankee and Greenwich Boy Scout Councils.  

Rudy spent 16 years as CEO of ICSA Software, a multinational governance software company. His experience building and implementing budgets is exactly what is needed at the BOF. 

Rudy is an Eagle Scout and graduated from Yale University with a degree in Economics.

Video Interview

Candidate Submitted Op-Ed

I have lived in Wilton for over 30 years. My wife Diane and I, like many Wilton residents, moved here for the schools as they were and still are one of the top schools in the state.  Our son attended Wilton public schools from kindergarten through high school and graduated in 2006. He had a wonderful experience and went on to Cornell University so we cannot be bigger cheerleaders for the schools. The schools are Wilton’s best asset.

I am running because I want to give back to Wilton. I have the experience to make a positive impact on the budget process. I have a BA in Economics from Yale University. I was the CEO of a multinational software company. I just finished a two-year stint as president of the CT Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts. I was the head of the finance committee of Temple B’nai Chaim. And I was on the Wilton Pension Committee.  

I understand the process of creating and managing budgets. There is always a push and pull between providing resources and fiscal responsibility. My experience is you need to communicate with everyone — which in this case includes the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education and the people of the town and make sure that everyone is heard. That is the way to begin building a consensus for the town.

What I have seen is the BOF became political and harsh. I will always treat my fellow board members and the other constituents of the town with respect. The BOF is not the enemy. I would like the BOF to be perceived as a resource that can be worked with.

Finally, I am not politically motivated. I simply want to give back to the town. I began this journey talking to Republicans and Democrats. The result was I am the only candidate endorsed by Michael Kaelin, the current head of the BOF and a Democrat. I am particularly proud of this endorsement because I know this endorsement came at a political cost to Mr. Kaelin. I too want to put the interests of Wilton above political partisanship. I want to maintain the ability to talk to and work with everyone on the BOF in a respectful manner that benefits the town of Wilton as a whole.

Wilton will face some big cost challenges in the next few years. Interest rates are rising, which will increase our debt service costs significantly. The other big change will come with the revaluation of property values. 

During a revaluation, if commercial property values decline relative to residential property, then your residential property taxes will go higher to compensate. Rough numbers — a 10% decrease in commercial property values will result in slightly more than a 1% increase in your property taxes.

These factors, interest rate increases and declining commercial property values, combined could raise your property taxes before any increase in town spending. The current proposed budget indicates property taxes will go up by more than 5%. This spending increase combined with increased interest expenses and property revaluation means your property taxes increases could easily reach 8%.

And this does not take into account the more than $100,000,000 for building improvements which has been presented to the Board of Selectmen.

I mentioned that we came here for the schools. But, again like many people, we also came here because Wilton was less expensive than neighboring towns. Work needs to be done to ensure we do not get tax increases that are higher than most homeowners feel is appropriate. The challenge is to listen to all constituents. How do we keep the schools as best in the state? My son had a wonderful experience in the Wilton education system. How do we ensure that kids in school today have a similar experience? How do we keep the town services as the best in class that they currently are? That is the challenge we currently face.

Partisan bickering, advocating for one group at the expense of all the others will not work going forward.

I will meet the challenge by listening to all constituents. I will bring dialog and civility to the conversation. We can meet this challenge if we all work for the betterment of the town of Wilton as a whole.  

Please vote for me on Nov. 7.  

Video Clips

What’s motivating you to run for the Board of Finance?

What do you think about public perception of the Board of Finance and the public response at last May’s Annual Town Meeting? People had very different, extreme perceptions of what happened — many felt the Board of Finance was unfairly attacked, and others felt the Board of Finance refused to hear what a group of people were saying, What do you think?

Budget Guidance

Are you ready to sit on a board where you’re going to have to make tough decisions and cuts and tell the Board of Education that it can’t fund everything?

Does the town need to rethink procedures around the Town Meeting? with ‘No, Too High/No, Too Low’ combined votes, or when the Town Meeting is held? or the 15% voter turnout threshold? Are there changes structurally to the way the town operates now that may make participation better, or may make the process smoother?

Board of Finance communications and public input: where can the BOF improve or change or get more input and communicate back with the town? How do you plan about getting town feedback?

What are the biggest financial issues facing the town?

Do you see areas or ways where the Board of Education could do better with less, or cut where there may be some fat here and there in their budget?

How deep a dive into BOE budgets and operations are you prepared to do?

What do you think of the new Town Administrator role?

Are there areas on the town/BOS side of things where there should be more funding, or other places to cut back?

Anything other things we haven’t asked? Do you have any original, out of the blue ideas about raising town revenue? Do you think town liquor laws could to be changed to align more closely with state laws?

You mentioned broaching a political divide? What are your thoughts on politics in local government?

What’s your message to voters about why you should be their choice, and the difference you’ll make on the board?