$300K in Elderly Tax Credits — Disbursed Without Approval, Two Years in a Row

What happened

Wilton's Elderly Tax Relief ordinance allows a second-round credit to be issued to qualifying residents — but only with approval from the Board of Selectmen (or its designee). For the January 2023 cycle, the BOS voted to approve the disbursement. For January 2024 and January 2025, no such vote occurred. The funds went out anyway.

The January 2025 disbursement totaled $302,562.02. After the gap was surfaced by Selectman Ross Tartell and Selectwoman Kim Healy, the BOS retroactively approved the disbursement on March 3, 2025. Second Selectman Joshua Cole stated he would call for a formal independent investigation.

The conflicting statements

Knickerbocker initially suggested the prior administration's transition was a factor — framing former First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice as having known a disbursement was being prepared. Vanderslice, citing Knickerbocker's own November–December 2024 emails to BOF Chair Matt Raimondi, disputed that account and said Knickerbocker had earlier told Raimondi he was unfamiliar with the ordinance. Knickerbocker subsequently retracted his earlier comments and accepted full responsibility, while asking GMW to withdraw the original statements — a request the editor declined, citing standard journalistic practice.

Boucher's position

First Selectwoman Toni Boucher told GMW she was aware the money had been distributed but understood it was handled internally by staff. She placed some responsibility on BOS members for not flagging it, said Knickerbocker had apologized for giving her the wrong advice, and asked: "Why should I have known this?" She also noted her plate is full beyond the First Selectman role — including writing two books and serving on the boards of two large institutions.

Why it matters

This is not the finance department. This is the elected executive's office disbursing six figures of taxpayer-funded credits, two cycles running, without the vote the ordinance requires. Selectwoman Healy's response on the record — "we have to follow the rules and we have to be informed and vote on things that our ordinances tell us to do" — is the floor, not the ceiling, of what residents should expect. Read alongside the late audit, the material weakness, the $100K in unaccounted-for P&Z funds, and the CFO situation, the pattern is procedural, not isolated.

Sources

• GMW SPECIAL REPORT: Investigation likely sought in unauthorized $300K tax credit disbursements
• GMW: BOS finance oversight pushback
• GMW: Selectmen raise transparency concerns (Nov 2025)