SPECIAL REPORT: Town Administrator Candidate Says First Selectman Told Him He Didn’t Get the Job Before the Board Voted

Editor’s Note: GOOD Morning Wilton is publishing a series of articles examining recent decisions and processes within Town government, with a focus on how information is shared, how decisions are made and how those actions align with the Town Charter.

This reporting is based on interviews, public meeting records and documents obtained through the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. In several cases, additional records have been requested but have not yet been provided.

As part of this reporting, town officials — including First Selectman Toni Boucher — have been given the opportunity to respond to specific questions related to the matters described.

Additional articles in this series will be published in the coming days.

Part 1: Questions Raised About Town Administrator Hiring Process

A candidate for Wilton’s town administrator position says First Selectman Toni Boucher told him early in the hiring process that another individual was expected to receive the role and suggested he consider applying for a different position — raising questions about how the search was conducted.

The candidate spoke with GOOD Morning Wilton on the record on the condition that his name and current place of employment not be published due to professional considerations. His identity and involvement in the hiring process have been verified.

In an interview, he described multiple meetings with Boucher outside of formal Board of Selectmen/search committee interviews, during which he said she indicated that another candidate was likely to be selected.

He said those meetings occurred outside the formal interview process and took place over multiple in-person conversations.

“When I met with Toni, she had said to me that there was another person that was interviewing that was probably going to get the role… and in two years, they were going to run for first selectman,” he said.

He said he was also encouraged to pursue a different position instead.

“She had said maybe I should apply for the CFO role, which I told her I wasn’t interested in,” he said.

He said the suggestion was made more than once during their meetings.

Town Charter-Defined Role of the Board

Under Wilton’s Town Charter, the authority to hire a town administrator — a role at the department head level — rests with the full Board of Selectmen, which conducts interviews and makes hiring decisions through a formal vote.

The search for a town administrator was conducted last year through a search committee comprised of the five BOS members and a sixth member, former selectwoman Lori Bufano (who currently serves as a member of the Board of Education).

The candidate said he first applied in August 2025 and continued through multiple rounds of interviews with the search committee into September 2025, and he believed he was under active consideration for the role.

“I actually thought… I was going to get the offer,” he said.

Notification Before a Vote

He said he later received an email from Boucher stating that the Town would not be moving forward with his candidacy.

“I was shocked when I got the email… saying they weren’t moving forward,” he said.

At the time, he said he believed the decision had already been made by the Board. However, after sending a follow-up note thanking members of the interview committee, he said he was contacted by a member of the Board who indicated that no vote had yet taken place.

“That’s when [one selectman] reached out to me and said, ‘We didn’t vote yet on this, so I don’t understand what’s going on,’” he recounted.

He said he later understood that the Board met afterward and took a vote, though the search was ultimately suspended.

Board Response and Special Meeting

Emails obtained by GMW through FOIA show that two (now former) members of the Board of Selectmen, Kim Healy and Josh Cole, called a special meeting to address the Town Administrator search. The meeting was called under the Charter following concerns about the handling of the hiring process and included consultation with the Town’s legal counsel.

The agenda for that meeting included discussion of a candidate and the possibility of extending an offer, as well as whether to suspend the search.

The Board ultimately voted unanimously to keep the position open rather than move forward with a candidate.

Concerns About Process

The candidate told GMW that aspects of the hiring process differed from what he would expect in municipal government.

“We would have done it much differently here in [the town I work for]. … There would not have been any pre-meetings beforehand. It was a little different than I’m used to in municipal government,” he said.

He also questioned how the position was advertised, noting that he did not see it posted on typical professional channels.

“They didn’t put it on any websites… like ICMA [International City/County Management Association} or CCM [CT Conference of Municipalities]… I only found the position because someone from my office [told me there was an open CFO position in Wilton],” he said. “So I looked on the Wilton website, I saw the actual Town Administrator job posted. So that’s why I applied for it, because I thought this wass a great opportunity. Wilton is a great town. I thought that I could add some value there, and I think it would be a great opportunity for me. So I applied for it.”

Editor’s note: Wilton Director of Human Resources Sarah Taffel told GMW that in addition to the Town’s website the town administrator position opening was posted with the CCM Job Bank, CT-GFOA [Government Finance Officers Association] and the National GFOA websites. For comparison, the Town’s open CFO position was posted at the same time on those same sites, but also on Indeed.com and the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association website, according to Taffel.

Outstanding Records Request

GOOD Morning Wilton submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on Mar. 11, 2026, seeking communications among members of the Board of Selectmen related specifically to the two final-round candidates in the Town Administrator search.

Town officials initially indicated a response would be provided by Apr. 8, but later said additional time was needed “due to the volume of responsive records.” The Town has indicated it expects to respond by Apr. 16.

Response from First Selectman

In response to earlier questions following a Board of Selectmen meeting on the search, Boucher emphasized that discussions held in executive session are confidential and said the Board ultimately voted unanimously to continue the search.

GOOD Morning Wilton has submitted detailed questions to First Selectman Toni Boucher regarding the hiring process described by the candidate, including whether any candidate was informed of a hiring decision before a vote of the Board of Selectmen.

GOOD Morning Wilton has also reached out to current and former members of the Board of Selectmen for comment.

This article will be updated if and when responses are received.

UPDATE: Shortly before the story published, former Selectwoman Kim Healy responded to GMW.

“I have been provided with legal guidance which I understand to mean that Personnel Search Committee (PSC) meetings/discussions are not public meetings.  And any information, documents and such related to the PSC are not public. As such I should not make public comments on PSC related discussions. Therefore, I am unable to answer questions [regarding specific candidates related to interviews, votes, communication and the hiring process],” Healy told GMW in an email.

“The BOS never voted on a candidate during the 2025 search. Josh Cole and I called a meeting for Sept. 24 with an agenda item of a possible vote and that vote never occurred,” she said. 

When asked if she had concerns about how the hiring was conducted, Healy wrote, “Yes.”

Regarding any changes that may be needed to future hiring processes, Healy wrote, “Historically personnel search committees for department heads have included either current or retired department heads from other towns or recruiting firms or professional residents with relevant experience or a combination of these member types. I believe that future personnel search committees would benefit by returning to these historical models.” 

Why It Matters

Hiring a Town Administrator is one of the most significant responsibilities of the Board of Selectmen, with implications for municipal operations and town processes, staffing, governance and budget decisions.

The account described by the candidate raises questions about how information was communicated during the process and whether the sequence of events aligned with the role of the Board as outlined in the Town Charter.