Mayor names Neal Depuis as new city tax assessor

By Ethan Hartley
Posted 4/5/18

By ETHAN HARTLEY -- The City of Warwick has named a new city tax assessor, following the resignation of Christopher Celeste over a “hiring issue” in December.

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Mayor names Neal Depuis as new city tax assessor

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The City of Warwick has named a new city tax assessor, following the resignation of Christopher Celeste over a “hiring issue” in December. In an announcement sent to the Warwick City Council on Monday, Mayor Scott Avedisian named Neal J. Depuis, of Lincoln, to the position.

Depuis was born in Pawtucket and, according to his resume, comes to Warwick with more than 30 years of experience in the field. He was most recently the district manager for Vision Government Solutions, Inc. of Northborough, Mass., where he worked from January of 2013 to the present.

Prior to that position, Depuis was the president/CEO of Certified Revaluation Company, Inc. of Lincoln, RI. Depuis worked there from 1998 until 2013. He also has experience in the public sector, working as the tax assessor for Lincoln from March of 1992 to June of 1998. His first position listed was as a staff appraiser for the Rhode Island branch of the Dayton, Ohio based Sabre Systems and Service Co.

Depuis is a graduate of the National College of Appraisal where he received a certificate in Professional Real Estate Appraisal. He also attended the Appraisal Institute, where he became compliant with the National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

He also received training from the Rhode Island Association of Assessing Officers and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), including various professional practice and ethics standards and appraisal of numerous types of properties. Depuis is certified as a general appraiser and a tax assessor in Rhode Island and holds certifications in Connecticut as well. He has qualified as an expert witness in the Rhode Island Superior Court local municipal Tax Review Boards during his work in the private and public sector.

Depuis is a member of the aforementioned IAAO and was the past president of the Rhode Island Association of Assessing Officers. He was a past government affairs committee member of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and was the past credit committee chairman for the Lincoln Town Employees Federal Credit Union.

Depuis was interviewed for the position in March and said he was aware of the current state of the city’s municipal offices following a burst pipe that occurred in January. He said on Wednesday that he would make the best of it and began work officially on April 2. He said that, while he never imagined himself being an assessor for such a significant portion of his life, he finds it to be important work – especially for the public sector.

“Nobody grows up saying they want to become a tax assessor,” Depuis said. “The main point of the job is about equity; making sure that all the residents of a community are treated fairly and equally.”

The notification of the city council was the first official notification given by Mayor Avedisian of a personnel hiring, which is now required by local ordinance following a measure that was passed, vetoed, and overridden by the Warwick City Council in March that requires the city’s mayor to alert the council of high-level personnel decisions within a finite time window.

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