AMHERST — An assessor with extensive experience in several Connecticut communities will start as Amherst’s principal assessor on Tuesday.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman announced Friday that he has appointed Elizabeth A. Duffy to the position long held by David Burgess, of Pelham, who retired last July. Burgess held the position for 28 years and has continued to consult for Amherst on a part-time basis since his retirement.
Duffy, the assessor for Windsor Locks, Connecticut since 2014, has also been an assessor for the Connecticut towns of Monroe, Middlebury, and Ellington, and served as chairwoman of the assessors board in Branford, Connecticut.
Duffy has been a member of the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers since 2011 and served as an expert witness in the field of real estate and business appraisal and assessment for Connecticut’s Superior Court and Tax and Administrative Appeals Court.
“Liz brings a very strong background in professional assessing practices to the town of Amherst with broad experience in residential and commercial real estate, personal property and assessing computer programs and systems,” Bockelman said in a statement.
Duffy will join the financial team that includes Interim Finance Director Sonia Aldrich, Treasurer Cheri Boucher and Tax Collector Jennifer LaFountain.
Bockelman praised Burgess for his tenure, which included handling numerous revaluations and tax appeals, and the introduction of the first-ever tax incentive for affordable housing.
The screening committee for the hire was chaired by Evelyn Rivera-Riffenburg, director of Human Resources, and also included LaFountain and Board of Assessors members Ken Hargreaves and Legrand Hines.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
