2010 Conference Session

Ethics in Government Collections

In today's environment collection staff is often questioned about how ethically they conduct their duties. Building public trust plays a vital role in the success of our collection efforts. In this session we will discuss where ethics fit into our professional careers and how organizational norms and values influence the decisions we make. In addition, we will evaluate how "explicit" and "implicit" ethics play a role in this process. Finally, we will review some ethical exercises to illustrate the importance of the decisions we make as professional collectors.

Speaker: David McPherson

David McPherson has been with the City of San Jose for 12 years and is currently the Deputy Finance Director in charge of the Revenue Management Division where he is responsible for the collection of various revenues. Before going to San Jose, he was employed with the City of Newport Beach for eight years where he was successful in developing several tax collection programs. David has been recognized throughout the State of California as one of the strategic leaders in the field of local tax issues. He has conducted several workshops for local municipalities, private industry and various organizations by helping them implement the "best practices" for complying or enforcing collection of various taxes.

David has presented several seminars on "Developing a Successful Revenue Collection Strategic Plan", "Finding the Hidden Treasures", "Show Me the Money", "Internet Taxation: Myth or Reality?", "Ethics in Professional Tax Collection", and many other tax related issues.

David has served as a member of the Silicon Valley Joint Venture Tax Committee. He also served on the League of California Cities Revenue & Taxation Policy Committee. He continues to serve as one of the League's principal technical advisors on revenue issues. In addition, David has served two terms as the President of the California Municipal Revenue & Tax Association (CMRTA) that represents over 210 cities statewide. He is also the recipient of the "Bruno Marchetti Award" for extraordinary leadership and service to the CMRTA. Finally, under David's leadership, the City of San Jose has won three CMRTA "Lighthouse Awards" for Excellence in Revenue Enhancements.

David received his Bachelors Degree in History from California State University, Fullerton and his Masters Degree in Public Administration from California State, Long Beach. While at Long Beach, David was named Future Urban Administrator of the Year. He is also a Certified National Licensing Official and a Certified Revenue Officer.