After retiring from public service in 2023, Wilton’s former First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice was called back into action Wednesday, Feb. 26, when the current town leader sought her input on a budget question.
“They don’t reach out to me, so this was very unusual,” said Vanderslice, an accountant by trade who served in Wilton’s top post for eight years, prior to which she was on the Board of Finance for two terms.
Vanderslice spoke with GOOD Morning Wilton following a Board of Selectmen budget review meeting on Thursday evening, Feb. 27.
Vanderslice received a call from First Selectman Toni Boucher and was conferenced in with Wilton CFO Dawn Norton and Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker, who had supposedly received incorrect information from their bond counsel regarding a state reimbursement that looked to decrease the budget for Fiscal 2026 by around $920,000.
“I have known from the beginning that the opinion that was received was wrong because of the fact that he didn’t have complete information … I knew the opinion from the attorney was wrong because I knew all the money had been bonded,” Vanderslice said, noting she had intended to reach out to town officials if the error wasn’t discovered.
This month’s budget work by the Board of Selectmen has been confusing and chaotic, starting with an original 10.4% increase proposal from Boucher and Knickerbocker that, because of the singular format used combining the total with Debt Service, did not clearly delineate the true number to BOS members or the public.
“Every first selectman is different in their approach,” Vanderslice said, “so I’m not going to comment on another first selectman’s approach to things.”
She noted, however, that the format Boucher and Knickerbocker presented was unusual.
“The Board of Selectmen does not set the debt service budget,” she said. “If you read the Charter, that is set by the Board of Finance, so I don’t understand why it was initially presented in the way it was presented.”
With a joint meeting scheduled for Wednesday night, Mar. 5, the Board of Finance is expecting the BOS to bring forward a budget that keeps any increase below 3%, per its guidance recommendation.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, however, Boucher and the BOS said it will likely provide financiers with a budget proposal showing a 4.45% increase and leave it in their hands to pare the number down if they so choose.
The selectmen are planning to vote on the $37.4 million proposal on Monday, Mar. 3. It currently includes two new — and what have become somewhat controversial — firefighter positions at a total cost of $216,000.
Selectwomen Kim Healy, the only board member to directly confront Boucher and Town Administrator Matt Knickerbocker about their murky presentation of the numbers, is the sole opponent of adding in the firefighter positions without more in-depth deliberation.
In his presentation to the BOS, Fire Chief Jim Blanchfield told members that this was part of a four-year request for additional personnel, amounting to an eventual total of eight firefighters.
“I think they should be removed … I’m not convinced that it’s the right thing to do at this time. I would really like us to consider it more thoroughly,” Healy told the BOS on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Vanderslice told GMW that she concurred, calling it “a major, major decision.”
“I agree that this needs a lot more vetting,” she said. “I was very surprised that this was in the budget with very little vetting … and surprised at the comment that the Board of Finance can make this decision.”
“I just wish they had taken more time and obtained more information before doing what they did,” she said of the BOS decision.
“I think that the Board of Selectmen should spend more time on this, obtain more information,” she said, noting its their responsibility to make the argument to both the BOF and the public.
While she wholeheartedly praised Blanchfield and his department, Vanderslice noted that when the issue of police staffing was last discussed, that department provided an in-depth analysis before funding was considered.
“What we asked the police to do was give us an analysis of all of their incidents that they respond to, and how much time does each one of them take and how many officers do they require,” Vanderslice said. “It’s almost a mathematical analysis.”
“This is a huge decision … I’m not adverse, I just don’t have enough facts,” she said, noting that during her eight years on the BOS the need was never officially discussed.
“I was pretty surprised to hear it … It’s my recollection that there were discussions at the Fire Commission level, but they never advanced them to the Board of Selectmen,” she said.
“You’re talking about a significant amount of money … As a Board of Selectmen member, it’s the taxpayer’s money and you have an obligation to fully vet these things,” Vanderslice said.
Vanderslice acknowledged that she has not been involved with the day-to-day operations nor related numbers anymore, and so said she couldn’t accurately assess all the goings-on.
She said the BOS has been faced with a “double whammy” following a significant drawdown in the medical reserve fund juxtaposed with a substantial increase in the employee insurance policy.
“It’s difficult to manage both of them at the same time,” she said, “so if I were a member of the Board of Selectman, what I’d be saying to the Board of Finance is, ‘Look, we’ve got these unusual things that we’re trying to absorb … We think that 3% is not reasonable.'”
“This is not a status-quo budget (and) I think that’s a valid argument that the Board of Finance can understand and that the public can understand,” Vanderslice said.
She said that over her eight years as first selectwoman her budgets averaged less than a 1% increase each year, but acknowledged that there will always be one-time situations that come up that require adjustments.
Thank you for the coverage of this very important safety matter for the residents of the Town of Wilton.
I’d just like to make a few comments:
(1) Thank you is in order for the former first Selectwoman for her many years of civic service. However the voters have elected a new first Selectwoman and Board and we should be addressing their views as those intimately involved in the process.
(2) to make a conclusion that further analysis is required without any knowledge of what analysts has been done is unfair. As the former Selectwoman says “she has not been involved with the day-to-day operations nor related numbers anymore, and so said she couldn’t accurately assess all the goings-on”.
(3) lastly, while focusing on revenue and costs is obviously important part of the budget process certain non monetary considerations must be balanced and often take precedence. Adding firefighters to an expanding, growing prosperous community is necessary to support that growth while maintaining safety to the public.
To say “It’s almost a mathematical analysis” is simply missing the forest among the trees.
It is totally a mathematical analysis. You don’t hire police or fire on feel good feelings about growth. Its all about calls per year, per shift, what type of calls, vacation and training requirements, mileage (which is why we have a station 2). I also think hearing the opinions of a respected leader who did a better job managing the budget is worthwhile and adds valuable insight.
One of the BOS members said that they have not been provided a detailed analysis and that further evaluation is needed. So the BOS members that support it, have not seen the data that supports the need. So, as a taxpayer in Wilton, I believe that the BOS should be provided with an analyses supporting the need for additional firefighters before allocating our tax dollars. I don’t see how that is an unfair request.
Eight years of BOS budgets averaging less than a 1% increase each year is exactly why the BOS has its back against the wall today.