BET Appoints Greenwich Tax Assessor

A lawyer with more than a quarter century experience in property tax cases and municipal revaluations was appointed Greenwich's new tax assessor.

The appointment of Lauren Elliott was approved unanimously by the Board of Estimate and Taxation in a 11-0 vote Monday night. Elliott fills the vacancy created earlier this year with the retirement of Assessor Ted Gwaltney. Elliott, who will earn $145,000, will begin work June 25. The appointment is valid through January 2014.

Elliott's appointment in Greenwich comes nearly two months after she accepted the post of assessor for the city of West Springfield, MA. On March 27, the 50-year-old Elliott was named principal assessor in West Springfield, following a month-long search, according to the reminder.com Elliott currently lives in Longmeadow, MA.

Elliott came highly recommended by BET members William Finger and Leslie Tarkington who helped conduct the search which included two rounds of advertisements and two rounds of interviews with town officials. "We feel we have a strong candidate in Lauren Elliott," said Finger just before the vote during the board's regular monthly meeting.

According to her biography on the website for the company she helped found, New England Property Tax Group LLC, Elliott has more than 25 years of experience in the assessment field. She began her career at Patriot Properties conducting revaluations for municipalities. She also performed private consulting work for several towns Canaan, Goshen and Salisbury, all in upstate Connecticut, as well as Portsmouth, NH. As a lawyer, she has litigated many appeals before the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board as well as appearing before local boards. In addition, she has testified as an expert for both the Connecticut and New Hampshire attorneys general, and is a certified assessor in Connecticut.

She is a 1985 graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA; earned law degree from Western New England School of Law in 1996 and has a master of law degree in estate and gift tax in 2007.

Shipman was thanked for his serving as the town's interim assessor since Gwaltney's retirement.