Candidate Submitted Bio

Slava Servello is financial controller of North Sails Group LLC in Bridgeport and previously held a similar position with Sisley Cosmetics USA Inc. in Danbury. Slava oversees all facets of strategic financial planning, including budget management and financial reporting. She is responsible for the integrity of the company’s financial statements and its internal controls. Slava earned an MBA in Accounting and Finance/Leadership and Change Management from New York University. 

She and her family moved to Wilton in 2021 deciding that it was the perfect place to raise their children, both of whom now attend Miller-Driscoll School. She enjoys being involved in community and school life and serves as treasurer of the Miller-Driscoll PTA.

Video Interview

Candidate Submitted Op-Ed

Dear friends and neighbors,

I am both honored and humbled to have the opportunity to run for a seat on the Board of Finance along with a remarkable group of candidates who share a deep commitment to the betterment of our beloved town of Wilton. It’s a privilege to call Wilton home, a community that welcomed my family with open arms. Now, I want to give back to ensure Wilton remains a great place to raise a family.

My combination of business acumen and hands-on volunteer experience has prepared me to serve on the BOF. I’ve spent my career immersed in accounting and finance, and I believe that these skills are invaluable when it comes to managing our town’s budgets efficiently and responsibly. Additionally, my volunteer work has given me a deep understanding of the needs and values of our community, making me well-equipped to serve on the board.

One of my main goals is the preservation of Wilton’s top-rated schools. I firmly believe that maintaining our excellent schools is crucial to our community’s future as they not only play a central role in safeguarding our property values but also in fostering a vibrant and thriving community. I’m confident that we can strike a balance between investing in our schools and ensuring that other essential needs of our residents are met as well.

Open and honest dialogue is the foundation of responsible financial management. I’ll use my experience evaluating budgets to ask critical questions to ensure transparency and efficiency.  As a Board member, I will review thoroughly details of proposed budget lines, seeking clarity on allocations, and challenging assumptions when necessary. By doing so, I will help ensure that every dollar spent is in the best interest of our community.

I’m deeply committed to shaping Wilton’s economic future. Wilton’s AAA credit rating is a testament to our tradition of responsible fiscal management, and I will work hard to preserve this status. You can also count on me to support efforts to grow the commercial portion of Wilton’s Grand List and reduce the tax burden on residents. Balancing the needs of all Wiltonians is a top priority.

My purpose in running for the Board of Finance transcends politics — it’s about ensuring Wilton remains the wonderful town we all cherish. Maintaining open lines of communication with the town boards and community members, along with increasing transparency in our decision-making processes, will be at the forefront of my priorities. I will work tirelessly to make sure that our town remains a great place to live and raise a family. Your support is instrumental in making this vision a reality, therefore, I ask for your vote on Nov. 7, as I aspire to recommend budgets that are fair but never sacrifice the quality of our schools and town services.

I am excited about the prospect of serving our community and I look forward to the opportunity to represent you on the Board of Finance.

Video Clips

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

Do you think the schools were not appropriately funded based on last year’s budget process?

What about the voter who doesn’t have kids in the town? Should they vote for you? For somebody who might not have children and benefit from investing in the schools directly, and nothing else contributes to town revenues to offset what they need to pay in taxes, those who say they cannot afford to stay here, are you telling them to just buck it up and deal with it?

And as a member of the Board of Finance, how are you able to encourage expanding town revenues and making it happen?

The $100 million infrastructure issue, the first selectwoman said it’s largely going to come from operating budgets. So, obviously, we want to see more revenue coming in. But at this point, it seems to all be about trying to find savings. Savings means cuts so do you have other ideas where to find savings? or revenues?

Where did board communication break down amongst the BOF members, and also from Board of Finance to Board of Education, and Board of Finance to the town? How are you going to work to make it improve if you’re elected to the board?

What do you think about the survey process last year? Do you think that that was valid? Talk about the survey, talk about other ways you hope to get feedback from residents.

What are some of the other big financial issues that you think the town is facing?

You’ve watched the development of the master plan. When you talk about the Wilton resident, who maybe has young kids in the school, do they share the same vision about expanding, building downtown, making it more vibrant? Does that tie into increasing revenues? For a lot of residents, would they agree?

In the last few years, the Board of Finance has not provided guidance to the Board of Education, or to the Board of Selectmen, for that matter. What are your thoughts about guidance? What do you think the other two boards should be thinking about?

You’re a great supporter of the schools, test scores just came out and we’re at the top in the state. Since we’re that amazingly good, couldn’t we just not have to be so vigilant about worrying about the deterioration of the school district. Could we talk about increasing class size and find savings in staff? Could we work with a smaller administration? Couldn’t we do just a little less and still attract new residents, if we had an A school versus an A-plus? Is it really going to make that big a difference?

On educational coaching… the way the past board had a target on instructional coaching, what do you think about that process last year? And the idea of the BOF focusing on something when they don’t have line item control in the BOE budget? Or do you think that the instructional coaching deserves to have been looked at across the board by all town officials to examine the value of it?

What do you think about the health of the town’s financial situation? Given your expertise that you bring… what have you looked at in terms of town’s financial records? What have you looked at in the town budgets? In your professional opinion, where do you think we stand? And where could we improve?

The town has to come up with strategies to to increase revenue. And it seems to be a question of taxes. Ultimately, it’s the residents choice. Unless there’s something, a secret magic answer or great ideas you’re holding on to…. any thoughts?

You mentioned the draw of having amenities in town. Besides the schools, are there other things that you feel are really significant and worth trying to fund? There was the turf field question, or an ice skating rink… any ideas or thoughts about that?

Why should voters choose you to be on the next Board of Finance?