Fort Smith lawyer accuses board of directors of casting secret votes

A Fort Smith lawyer filed a lawsuit against the city of Fort Smith, charging the board of directors voted in secret when removing an agenda in November.

Joey McCutchen filed the suit on behalf of Kristin Kitchens.

The suit states the board of directors chose to remove an item from the Nov. 16 agenda outside of a regular board meeting.

‘When they’re voting it needs to be in a public forum not polled by the city clerk in a secret meeting," McCutchen said. 

He said it is crucial for people to have the opportunity to view the board's decision-making process. 

“We need to see why the board is making the decisions that they’re making, and when they do it in secret meetings, we don’t see that," McCutchen said. 

City Administrator Carl Geffken said the board was following city ordinance in removing the item from the agenda. 

"The removal or placement of items on an agenda by the board is a process that the city has followed per the city's code of ordinances," Geffken said in a text. "I believe a very similar lawsuit was brought against the city many years ago, and the lawsuit was dismissed. Since there has been no communication about this alleged infraction, we will expend the time and money to defend the city against this lawsuit which we believe has no merit." 

The .75 sales tax is used to pay off 2012 and 2014 bonds, but the tax is expected to pay off the bonds by September 2022. In an email, Geffken recommended that the board of directors extend the tax to pay for other city items. 

The directors disagreed on whether to allocate the .75% tax between police and fire at .125%, parks at .125% and consent decree work at .5% or between police and fire at .125% and consent decree work at .625%. 

"We do not want this topic to be bandied about in such a way that could deflect from the ultimate decision of the Board," Geffken said in an email. 

In response to Geffken's statement, McCutchen said “He doesn’t want the public seeing the sausage being made."   

Director Lavon Morton first requested the tax extension that included money for parks be removed from the agenda. 

According to an email from City Clerk Sherri Gard, Directors Jarred Rego, André Good, George Catsavis and Robyn Dawson agreed to remove the item. Directors Kevin Settle and Neal Martin wanted to keep the item on the agenda. 

It is against the Freedom of Information Act for elected city officials to hold meetings without first alerting the media. 

"While Defendant desires to characterize this as merely removing an item from the agenda, it was nothing more than a disguised vote on each option which the Freedom of Information Act requires to be done in a public forum," the lawsuit sSearch Assets tates. 

McCutchen said that the board's actions show a lack of transparency, especially when it concerns consent decree items. 

“It all reverts back to the lack of transparency, and it’s very serious," McCutchen said. 

The public should have the ability to remain informed on the board's decisions, McCutchen said. 

“But the bottom line is it’s important to hold the board accountable so that number one, public business is done in the light of day and important decisions are made in the light of day and that we’re able to see the full, robust discussion,” McCutchen said. 

Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.