A series of emails between Fort Smith city administrators and city board of directors is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Fort Smith resident Bruce Wade this week alleging that city leaders are conducting business in violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The alleged violations concern emails between board members and city administration concerning recent attempts by some board members to circumvent the Civil Service Commission and allow police chief Nathaniel Clark to make hires outside of the FSPD for supervisory positions.
Wade, a retired engineer and business owner, says he has a simple motive for holding city officials accountable when it comes to honesty, openness and transparency in government.
“I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that the city acts in a way that all the information the public has a right to know is not being conducted in secret,” said Wade. “I don’t want my kids to be able to walk up to my tombstone and say ‘you had a chance to hold these people accountable and you didn’t do it’ … the people have a right to know what’s going on.”
The lawsuit addresses emails attorney Joey McCutchen received after a June 2 FOIA request for “copies of all electronic mails between any two or more members of the Board of Directors or any between the board of directors and the the city administrator or deputy (or assistant) for all dates from April 10, 2017 through the present time.”
“I was actually looking for information concerning the recycling situation,” said McCutchen, who is the attorney for fired Fort Smith sanitation director Mark Schilevert who is considering a lawsuit against the city. “All of this stuff just jumped out at me as obvious violations.”
McCutchen said while all of the city directors were part of an email chain that only two, along with the city administrator actively participated directly in the exchange of information “outside the purview of the pubic.”
McCutchen is calling into question the emails in the matter between City Administrator Carl Geffken, Position 2 Ward 2 director Andre Good and Position 3 Ward 3 director Mike Lorenz.
“I applaud the other five members of the board for actively not participating in the email chain,” said McCutchen. “They are all copied in the emails, but only Geffken, Good and Lorenz participated in what I contend are FOIA violations.”
The lawsuit seeks both declaratory relief seeking to declare that the series of emails violates the Freedom of Information Act and an injunction against future violations of the Freedom of Information Act. Currently, the suit lists only the City of Fort Smith as a defendant.
McCutchen said, “the emails demonstrate a pattern of engaging in secret discussions about matters that are required to occur in a public meeting.” He continued “there was no notice of the meetings given and the public was deprived of the opportunity to participate and view the discussions.”
In May, the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission allowed a proposal by Clark to be allowed to appoint people from outside the department to administrative job die for lack of a motion at a regular monthly meeting.
The city board of directors then voted 4-3 on June 7 to back Clark’s proposal and send it back to the Commission for reconsideration.
Good has been the most vocal proponent of allowing Clark free reign in hiring, saying “Our Civil Service Commission decided to do what I believe is the job of the chief. To do a job, just like we hired Carl (Geffken, Fort Smith City Administrator) and just like we were elected to do. How can we bring in diversity if we’re not opening up our application process?”
On May 21, Good emailed Geffken expressing that the Fraternal Order of Police had threatened a vote of “no confidence” and that he felt the Chief should be given the leeway to make the hirings he chooses.
“The Chief, not the Civil Service Commission, needs to make critical staffing decisions for the Fort Smith Police Department. As is the Chief is hamstrung by the inability to assemble and align staff as, in his professional judgement, the job requires.”
Good goes on to express a desire to “remove and dissolve the out-dated Civil Service commission.”
“The FOP has no real power. They are not a union. If this vote of no confidence in the police chief goes forward and is even considered by the Civil Service Commission, I recommend the board not only support the policy changes expressed, but instead completely remove and dissolve the out-dated commission,” Good went on to state in his email.
In another email to Geffken dated May 22, Good pleaded his case again this time saying “the CSC needs need blood if it continues to exist” and asked the City Administrator to “please share the email) with the entire board”.
In all, McCutchen lists 15 emails between director Good, director Lorenz and Geffken as exhibits in the email chain.
“It’s obvious these emails are an attempt to discuss and conduct city business in a manner in which the public was never informed or privy to such meetings.” said McCutchen. “It’s a textbook case of FOIA violations.”
Click here to read the lawsuit in it’s entirety
