• Lynne op ed Nov. 2025
  • G&B offer on the table, Memo of Understanding, 12/2/24 TB says there has been interest in G&B by several entities and that will be discussed at next meeting; Exec Session on 12/17/24 to discuss sale of G&B/Town green; Ross misstatement 3/2/26
  • Town Administrator — job posting sites. memo from Kim to all BOS members documenting what went down.

First Selectman Toni Boucher was confronted at Monday night’s (Mar. 2) Board of Selectmen meeting over inaccurate statements about salary history and regional pay comparisons as she sought additional compensation for Wilton’s Department of Public Works director — raising broader questions about the administration’s process for setting municipal salaries.

During the selectmen’s discussion, Selectman Matt Raimondi challenged Boucher’s assertion that DPW Director Frank Smeriglio had not received a raise since 2022 — a claim Raimondi contradicted by publicly available salary data. He also disputed figures she cited about what neighboring towns pay their DPW directors, saying the numbers presented did not align with job descriptions he found online or countywide averages he researched.

Raimondi emphasized that his objections were not about Smeriglio’s performance, which he praised, but about what he described as the need for a transparent, data-driven process from the First Selectman when determining compensation.

“We’re talking about budgeting,” Raimondi said. “We need to be very precise about the numbers.”

Seeking Accurate Data and Proof

The debate came as the Board is also weighing a new management-level position Boucher has included in the FY 2027 budget proposal, a “capital planning, facilities, and real estate manager” that will report to Smeriglio, with the job posting listing a salary range of $160,000 to $175,000. The role is similar to one Boucher eliminated shortly after taking office — further fueling debate over need, fiscal priorities and administrative decision-making.

Boucher first broached the subject of a raise for Smeriglio at the Feb. 17 Board of Selectmen meeting, when she sought to get a $5,215.70 transfer that she said would cover an additional raise for Smeriglio for the current budget year, through July 1, 2026 — roughly a four-month period — beyond any other contractual raises.

Boucher asserted that not only had Smeriglio not been given a salary increase since he was hired in 2022 but that she had compared Smeriglio’s salary with surrounding towns.

“It’s decidedly less than our neighboring towns,” she said, “when we called and got the actual numbers … Our neighboring towns range anywhere on the lower end, would be about $180,000 for like positions that had an engineering and chief engineer, along with DPW or DPW PCA, and the high end would be around $200 or $230,000.”

“We tried to benchmark it with our neighboring towns to be in that similar area, and you can see it in your budget,” Boucher said of Smeriglio’s salary, “so when you do approve your final budget you will thereby be approving it as a Board of Selectmen compensation change.”

In her efforts, Boucher cited data that Raimondi argued was not accurate.

Reiterating that he was not making any judgment on Smeriglio’s performance or value — Raimondi said Monday night that Boucher’s claims that Smeriglio had not received a salary increase since 2022 were untrue.

Raimondi cited both Wilton’s prior years’ budgets — something he said he knew very well as the former Board of Finance Chair — as well as Opengovpay.com, an online open-data platform that provides transparent information to the public about government spending. According to Opengovpay.com, Smeriglio began his role as DPW director at a salary of $152,646 in 2022, which increased to $156,9947 in 2023, and to $161,723 in 2024, the most recent data.

Raimondi responded not only to Boucher’s statement that Smeriglio had not received an increase in four years, but also her claim that Westport was offering $180,000 for the DPW director position.

“I looked up that job description,” he said. “It’s $160,000 … We were originally told it was $180,00.”

“I want to be really clear about this,” Raimondi said. “Frank does a great job. What I am discussing is that setting salary and compensation is a science. I’m discussing the science of setting compensations. It is not a discussion of merit. He is great. This is not a lot of money, but there were a couple of comments made that I have to respond to.”

Additionally, Raimondi researched and found an average salary for every director of DPW in all 23 municipalities in Fairfield County. “The average is $156,000,” he said, noting that that wasn’t even the best way to make a determination, with some municipalities actually sharing the position and others having additional duties that fall under the umbrella of their DPW job description, such as overseeing the Parks and Recreation Department or a waste water treatment plant, as some DPW directors do.

“We need an actual comprehensive study to tell us, pound for pound, what it is,” Raimondi said. “That wasn’t done here and when I started looking at the salaries, it shows that we are competitive.”

He pointed out that while Wilton has the 13th largest budget in the county, Smeriglio has the sixth highest salary among DPW directors.

Boucher argued back, stating she had gathered data from Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Stamford and Westport, and said that Westport’s First Selectman* told her that their DPW director was originally $180,000 and was now making closer to $190,000. [see editor’s update below]

Westport is now seeking a new DPW director following the retirement of Peter Ratkiewich, who began with the town in 1989, serving as DPW director the past eight years.

“I literally have the job description. This is not correct,” Raimondi said, noting that the new position was posted on the Westport Town website at $160,000.

The back and forth was repeated several times during Monday’s meeting, when Raimondi pushed back against various statements Boucher made. “That’s just not true,” he said, waving what he said was a print out of a posting directly from Westport’s website.

*Editor’s update: During the meeting, First Selectwoman Toni Boucher said she had spoken with Westport’s First Selectman about that town’s DPW director salary. Westport First Selectman Kevin Christie later contacted GMW after publication to say no such conversation occurred.

“I’ve spent the last week, talking directly to the various towns that are our neighbors. …, we have data from Westport. … I actually got a copy of the budget book for for new payment and discussing it also with their first selectmen. … When it comes to Westport, I did confirm with their first selectman that it was originally 180 but they think it’s closer to 190 now, because they’ve gotten some raises….” 

After GMW reported that Boucher had spoken with Westport’s First Selectman Kevin Christie, Christie reached out to GMW to say he had not discussed DPW compensation, hiring, or related matters with Boucher.

“I have never discussed DPW compensation, hiring, or any DPW-related matters with First Selectwoman Toni Boucher,” Christie wrote in an email.

When asked about the discrepancy, Boucher told GMW she had not been clear during the meeting and said she had actually contacted Westport’s former First Selectwoman, whose phone number she had, rather than Christie. Boucher said she did “not have the personal number of the new First Selectman and was considering talking to him next.” She said she had not contacted him at his office during the week she said she was speaking with officials from neighboring towns.

Raimondi emphasized it wasn’t about the increase, rather the process that Boucher was undertaking in seeking the increase.

“We’re talking about budgeting,” Raimondi said. “We need to be very precise about the numbers.”

Boucher rebutted that there was also an issue of supply and demand. “If you want to keep good people, that’s another decision as well,” she said.

Second Selectman Ross Tartell indicated he agreed with Raimondi. While he acknowledged that there needed to be some flexibility in considering personnel decisions, he said a clear study of roles and job descriptions should be examined in relation to salary ranges.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify statements made by First Selectwoman Toni Boucher during the meeting regarding compensation for Westport’s Department of Public Works director and her claim that she had discussed the matter with Westport’s First Selectman. GMW accurately reported Boucher’s remarks as they were made during the meeting as part of discussion comparing salaries in neighboring towns. After publication, Westport First Selectman Kevin Christie contacted GMW to say he had not discussed DPW compensation, hiring or related matters with Boucher. Additional reporting with both Christie and Boucher clarified that Boucher had not spoken with Christie during the week she said she had contacted officials in neighboring towns. The story has been updated to include that information and explain the discrepancy.