Featured Citizen: Director David Gephart — Stewarding Oro Valley’s Financial Future

Town of Oro Valley Director of Finance leads award-winning team through economic challenges

When David Gephart joined the Town of Oro Valley as Director of Finance five and a half years ago, he didn’t just take a job—he came home. After living in the community for years, raising his family here, and choosing Oro Valley specifically for its reputation for safety and excellent schools, Gephart now has the unique opportunity to serve the place he calls home.

“The thing I like about it is I’m now working for my hometown,” Gephart explains during our conversation at Town Hall. “I get to see the fruit of my labor and the work that I perform—things coming out of the ground, like Naranja Park improvements and the acquisition of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. It takes finance and resources to do cool things for our community.”

A Career Built on Municipal Finance

Gephart’s journey to Oro Valley began with a double major in management and accounting from Vanguard University in Southern California, followed by an MBA from Portland State University. His career path took him through positions as an auditor with a CPA firm specializing in municipal clients, finance director for a small city in Oregon, and business services director for Northwest Fire District before landing at the Town of Oro Valley.

“You really don’t receive governmental accounting training in school,” Gephart notes. “I learned it while working for a CPA firm that had a large municipal audit client base. That’s where I learned about governmental accounting.”

That specialized expertise has proven invaluable. Under Gephart’s leadership, the Town’s Finance Department has received the prestigious “Triple Crown” designation from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for multiple years, recognizing excellence in financial reporting, budget presentation, and popular annual financial reporting. The town has received GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 28 consecutive years, a testament to its consistent and professional financial management in Oro Valley.

Leading an Exceptional Team

Gephart is quick to deflect credit to his team, describing Deputy Finance Director Wendy Gomez as “the best ever,” along with two incredible senior accountants, a senior accounting specialist who manages accounting, payroll, and accounts payable, and a “brilliant” senior budget analyst who handles forecasting and financial planning.

“We’re lean, but we do an exceptional job for the limited staff and resources that we have,” Gephart says with evident pride. “Everyone comes to work every single day with an incredible can-do attitude. I feel blessed to lead that team.”

For Gephart, the work is both challenging and rewarding. His typical day runs from 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., often extending into evening meetings for Town Council sessions, Budget Finance Commission meetings, or community presentations. The department experiences two particularly intense seasons: audit season and budget season, with the latter now extending nearly nine to ten months of the year.

Understanding the Financial Challenge

Gephart’s message about Oro Valley’s finances is nuanced—the town is well-managed and financially sound, but faces real challenges that require attention now rather than later. As he puts it, “You don’t wait for the house to burn down.”

The core issue is straightforward: Oro Valley’s two primary revenue sources—state revenue sharing and state sales tax—are both declining, while ongoing expenditures continue to rise. The town has experienced particularly dramatic inflation in critical areas. Pavement preservation costs have skyrocketed 107% since fiscal year 2021—essentially doubling in just four years. Public safety costs have also increased significantly.

“These are the two areas where we’re seeing significant inflation,” Gephart explains, “and to me, those are number one and number two to our town and community in terms of keeping us safe and providing a nice, livable, functional town.”

Yet there’s good news in how the town has responded. Through the last two budget cycles, Gephart and his team have identified approximately $3 million in ongoing operational savings—a significant achievement that demonstrates fiscal discipline. The town continues to seek additional efficiencies, having recently held planning sessions to identify core services and explore more efficient ways to deliver them.

“We’re not just looking at new taxes,” Gephart emphasizes. “We’re also looking at keeping our costs contained, operationally and from a capital standpoint. We’re walking the walk.”

The Revenue Reality: Shopping Local Matters

One of the most surprising findings Gephart shares concerns retail leakages—money Oro Valley residents spend outside the community. A consultant study revealed that approximately $1.18 billion in annual retail spending occurs outside Oro Valley, representing about $30 million in lost sales tax collections. That’s roughly equivalent to what the town currently collects in sales tax annually.

“We could be collecting double our sales tax collections if we could capture more of that spending locally,” Gephart notes. “Any time we can reduce that leakage, it has a significant benefit to our community.”

The solution? Shop local whenever possible—but with an important twist for the digital age. When local options aren’t available, buying online and having items shipped to your Oro Valley address means the town still receives the sales tax revenue, rather than losing it to Marana, Tucson, or other communities.

“If you’re going to buy electronics, clothes, home supplies—those types of items—and you buy them online with delivery to your door, you’re not dealing with the traffic, and we get the sales tax,” Gephart explains. This is particularly relevant since groceries aren’t taxed locally anyway, so trips to Costco in Marana for perishables don’t affect Oro Valley’s sales tax revenue.

Proposed Tax Adjustments

To address the revenue challenges, the Town Council will vote on January 14, 2026, on three new tax categories that other Arizona communities already employ: a use tax on business purchases made outside the state, a telecommunications tax on cell phone services, and a commercial rental tax on business property leases and self-storage facilities.

Gephart is candid that these measures aren’t popular but frames them as necessary after 50 years without such diversification. “No one is thrilled or excited about paying more in taxes. I’m not excited about it. But reality is, we put this off for 50 years,” he says. “We would not be proposing them if I didn’t feel like it was absolutely a critical need for the trajectory and future sustainability of our town.”

The mayor has described these measures as “not a silver bullet,” and Gephart agrees—they alleviate pressure points but don’t completely solve the challenge. They do, however, provide time to adjust the town’s 10-year capital improvement plan and continue finding operational efficiencies.

“Diversification manages risk,” Gephart notes, drawing on financial principles. “That’s what insurance companies do. That’s what you do with your investments. If you put all your eggs in one basket, you expose yourself to excess risk.”

A Personal Investment in Community

Beyond the numbers and policies, Gephart brings a personal commitment to his role. He and his wife have four children, including Grace, who graduated from CDO High School and earned her law degree from the University of Arizona at age 23; Amelia, pursuing a master’s in actuarial science at ASU; Marisa, recently married at 19; and six-year-old John, who keeps the family “feeling really old and really young at the same point in time.”

That seven-minute commute from home to Town Hall symbolizes Gephart’s integration into the community he serves. He sees the direct impact of his work on the streets he drives, the parks his family enjoys, and the trails they hike.

“How cool is that, that we can make a positive impact and a lasting impact on our town and community that benefits at least 50,000 people, not just now, but well into the future?” Gephart reflects. “We all have a servant’s heart, servant’s attitude. None of us are here to get rich. We’re here to make an impact.”

Looking Ahead with Confidence

Despite the challenges, Gephart maintains a pragmatic optimism about Oro Valley’s financial future. The town’s executive leadership team works cohesively, and the Finance Department continues to earn national recognition for excellence. The community benefits from sound fiscal management practices that have never resulted in anything less than a clean audit opinion.

His message to residents worried about the town’s finances. The fundamentals remain strong. The town is 93% built out, which means development revenues will continue declining, but that same stability offers predictability. The proposed revenue diversification, combined with continued operational discipline, positions Oro Valley to maintain service levels without dramatic cuts.

“This town is exceptionally managed and run,” Gephart states with conviction. “Our executive leadership team—they are all exceptionally qualified, hard-working, with great attitudes. We work very cohesively as a team, and we have just a tremendous amount of respect for each other.”

For residents wanting to stay informed, Gephart encourages attending Town Council meetings, reviewing the Popular Annual Financial Report available on the town’s website, and participating in the Community Academy program, where town departments present on their operations and challenges.

As Oro Valley navigates evolving economic realities, it does so with an award-winning finance team led by a director who views roads as a public safety issue, understands that sustainable budgets require ongoing revenues to exceed ongoing expenditures, and approaches his work with the perspective of a neighbor invested in the community’s long-term success.

“We’re here to listen,” Gephart says of the relationship between town staff and elected officials who represent residents’ voices. “They work so hard, and our job is to respond in the best way that we can. Sometimes we don’t get it right, but it’s never from a lack of intent or trying.”

The Town Council will vote on the proposed tax measures on January 14, 2026. Residents can learn more about town finances at orovalleyaz.gov or by attending Town Council meetings, held twice a month.