First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice said on a cable television show she may want to replicate any success that is found in having the town’s facilities director perform double duty as the school district’s facilities director.
Chris Burney took on the double duty recently after the former schools facilities supervisor, John Murphy, resigned. Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith told local news outlets Murphy resigned for personal reasons.
Specifically, Vanderslice told interviewer David Smith of the show Meet the Leaders, on cable channel 12, that she would consider having the town’s finance director step into the shoes of the schools’ finance director. That position is currently being handled by an interim finance director.
“And it just so happens that our finance director has a master’s degree in education. These things work out that way,” Vanderslice said of the finance director, Anne Kelly-Lenz.
Vanderslice is serving her first term, and this December marks her first year in office. A certified public accountant by profession, she served seven years on the Board of Finance. She has been a Wilton resident nearly 30 years.
In her interview with Smith, Vanderslice also said:
- She has a joint initiative with the Board of Education, and is looking for results of the six-month trial period for the shared services. “It is a model of how we want to do things in the future,” Vanderslice said.
- One of the nice things about being first selectman is having good relations with the Board of Finance. “This was my first budget, and it was actually lower than the 2014 budget,” she said of the budget now in place. “I got a few points with residents and the Board of Finance to do that. It will be tough to follow something like that.”
- Wilton has a program of senior tax relief including a tax deferral program, but most people don’t want to burden their children with deferred taxes. That is when they pay back the loan when they sell the house. “So we’re working on a better solution,” Vanderslice said.
- One of the town’s infrastructure challenges is that there are not enough apartments and condominiums to accommodate all those who would like to live in town.