Southington council unanimously appoints Robert Britton to Board of Finance, then moves into executive session on litigation

The Southington Town Council unanimously appointed Robert Britton to a two‑year seat on the Board of Finance and immediately swore him in before moving into executive session to discuss pending litigation.

The council voted on the nomination during its special meeting Monday evening. The council’s vice chair nominated Robert Britton, saying Britton is a “seasoned financial service executive with more than 25 years of banking and leadership experience,” and noting his current role in Connecticut government banking at M&T Bank and degrees from UConn and the University of Hartford. The nominator revised the motion to make the appointment contingent on receipt of a resignation letter from the Planning and Zoning Commission, which the council said would be provided to the clerk.

The clerk conducted a roll call on the nomination; the appointment passed unanimously. The clerk then administered the oath of office. As sworn in, appointee Robert Britton repeated the oath to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut” and to “faithfully discharge according to law” his duties on the Board of Finance.

Council members said the town manager will initiate the process to fill Britton’s vacated seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission. The meeting record shows that some Board of Finance members were expected to attend an executive session on the same evening; the chair asked the council to recess into executive session to discuss pending litigation under Connecticut General Statutes 1‑206(b).

On the record, the council named the attorneys expected to join the executive session as Thomas Gerard and Lydia Nichols. The chair confirmed that the executive session would include the sitting Board of Finance members and town attorneys and that the town clerk and video recording would be excluded for that portion of the meeting.

The council did not take further public action on the litigation matter during the open meeting; the record shows only the motion, second and agreement to enter executive session. The council’s next procedural steps for the litigation were not specified on the public record at the close of the meeting.

The appointment fills a Board of Finance seat through November 2027; the motion and the subsequent swearing‑in occurred at the July 13, 2026 special meeting of the Southington Town Council.