After seven years as the city’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff DeWitt will be leaving his position to become CFO at the University of Kansas.
Seven years ago, our CEO Tony Williams participated in the CFO search and championed Jeff for the job. At the time, Jeff had been CFO for the city of Phoenix. During the Great Recession, he helped Phoenix get its finances back on stable ground after a catastrophic loss in tax revenue from collapsing property values. It was that kind of fiscal stewardship that the District needed—and continues to need.
After near-bankruptcy in the 1990s, the District has managed 24 years of clean audits. He developed an accounting framework to calculate the lifetime costs of our physical and capital assets that allows the city to prepare for, anticipate and fund infrastructure maintenance. Under his leadership, the city met its goal of accumulating 60 days of cash reserves, which led to a better credit rating, lowering the cost of borrowing and positioning the city to handle future crises. He then shepherded the District through a tumultuous 2020 while maintaining its strong fiscal position.
“Jeff has exceeded my highest expectations,” Tony Williams says, “most recently by providing counsel to the Mayor and Council during the COVID crisis. He is one of the best public finance executives in a generation.”
We wish Jeff the best at his next venture and thank him for his service.
