Faced with at least two city directors seeking his removal from his position on the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission, Sam “Chip” Sexton will seemingly not go gently into the good night.
The Fort Smith Civil Service Commission refused to act in May on a proposal by police chief Nathan Clark, who is looking for autonomous power in selecting FSPD personnel for supervisory position at the sergeant level and above, allowing the proposal to die for the lack of a motion or a second at their meeting.
Spearheaded by the efforts of directors Andre Good, Keith Lau and Mike Lorenz, the board attempted an end-around and got director Tracy Pernartz to vote with them in a non-binding vote in support of the proposal later in the month to “send a message” to the Commission.
Not content with merely trying to force their will on the Commission, some members of the Board of Directors not only want to advise the Commission, they want to do away with the body all together in their attempt to appease Clark.
Sexton, a Fort Smith attorney who is the chairperson of the five-member commission, has been targeted by at least three Fort Smith board of directors who are citing a conflict of interest because he is a law partner with Joey McCutchen, who is engaged in an FOIA lawsuit against the city of Fort Smith.
In addition, McCutchen is the attorney of record for fired City sanitation director Mark Schlievert who is considering legal action against the city.
Directors Lau and Lorenz, by virtue of a motion and a second at a study session meeting last month added an executive session to the July 11 agenda “regarding the removal of Civil Service Commission chairperson”.
Director Andre Good, who has already publicly declared his intent to dismantle the Commission in deference to his support of Clark, was not at the study session where the item was added to the agenda.
Having already voluntarily recused himself from any action in the situation involving the chief’s proposal, even though he maintains that no conflict of interest exist, Sexton says the entire process is a smokescreen” designed to influence the Commission, which is a voluntary panel and not subjected to the same “conflict of interest” restrictions placed on an actual employee of the city.
“There is no conflict. Directors Good and Lorenz are accused of wrong-doing in the lawsuit filed by Joey McCutchen so, if I have a conflict, how is it that they don’t have a bigger conflict?” Sexton said in an exclusive interview with Inside Fort Smith. “The meeting cannot be held in executive session because it does not legally fall in to the parameters required for an executive session and the public and media are entitled to know the reasons behind the Board’s actions.”
Sexton provided Inside Fort Smith with a two-page response to questions emailed to him concerning the attempt to remove him from the Commission, for which he has been a voluntary member for the past seven years.
The response can be accessed HERE or the entire text is available in a separate story today on Inside Fort Smith.
“Arkansas state law requires the Commission to establish ‘the qualifications of each applicant for appointment to any position on the police or fire department,'” said Sexton. “On May 22, 2017, the Commission met to consider a proposed rule change that would change qualifications for supervisors in the Police Department. The change would have allowed hiring of persons as supervisory police officers who have no training in Arkansas law and no knowledge of Fort Smith’s geography or citizens.”
“I believed the proposed change would create a public safety risk,” said Sexton. “While I did not support the proposed change, neither did any other member of the Commission and the proposal failed because there was no motion by any Commissioner to change the rule.”
“The Board of Directors has now been requested, by a motion made by Director Keith Lau and seconded by Director Mike Lorenz, to consider whether I should be removed entirely from the Civil Service Commission because of an alleged, but erroneous, belief that I have a conflict of interest due to Mr. (Bruce) lawsuit filed by Mr. McCutchen.”
“With all due respect, I note that in or around 2011 (at a time I served on the Commission) Joey McCutchen filed a FOIA lawsuit against the City asserting a FOIA violation by certain City Directors and the City Administrator. At that time, there was no claim made that I had a conflict in serving on the Commission because of the lawsuit that Joey McCutchen had filed.”
“So how is it that what was not a conflict in 2011 suddenly becomes a conflict in 2017 almost immediately after I failed to support a proposed rule change?” said Sexton.
The response by Sexton goes on to discuss several other and points of law regarding the effort to remove him from the Commission.
Directors Lorenz and Lau were emailed immediately after the study session in which they placed the agenda item on the agenda for the July 11 regular meeting and both responded.
Lorenz defended his stand on the issue in a lengthy email:
“The request to discuss this issue in executive session is appropriate. Many have stepped down off of commissions and committees in the past due to actual or perceived conflict of interest.
“Any conflict of interest issue regarding appointed commission or committee members would be considered and reviewed by this board.
“Again, as I have stated multiple times. The CSC’s function is a grievance committee to protect officers and should not be dictating or setting HR policy.
“All HR functions should be directed by the city’s HR department and not be influenced or set by an appointed citizen committee.
“Additionally, as the chief has said multiple times, diversity is a broad scope, not just about race or gender but experience, knowledge and education. Any successful organization looks for the BEST candidate to fill any open position, regardless of if they are internal or external candidates and completely regardless of race, gender or other such factors.
“This is simply about allowing the leader of this department to hire the best candidate for open positions and assuring that all city employees, both uniformed and non-uniformed are all under the City HR department policies and following all state and federal employment laws.”
Director Lau went the no comment route after being informed he would be quoted exactly in any resulting article and apparently didn’t appreciate the “hostile commentary” in the email he was sent concerning the issue, taking umbrage with the wording of the query which was as follows and is included at the wishes of director Lau:
“You two (Lau and Lorenz) were the motion and the second. So, I guess I need to direct these questions toward you.
Given the connections of local business men serving on commissions in which they gain multiple advantages when it comes to their business dealings, this appears to be a veiled effort on the part of the BOD or at least some members to give uncompromised bureaucratic control of the hiring policies of the FSPD to the chief of police.
So …
Is “conflict of interest” restricted to this one issue or when others start coming to light in the next few weeks will those be addressed as well?
Is dismantling a commission that has served the men and women of the police department and fire department for years acceptable for the sake of forced “diversity”?
Can you explain why this sudden interest of “lack of diversity” among FSPD supervisors isn’t seemingly as important in the fire department?
I would appreciate your responses. You will be quoted EXACTLY in any resulting coverage.”
Lau’s response was as follows: “Sorry, Dennis, but given your hostile commentary I see no reason to comment to you on this issue. If you chose to quote me exactly please include your commentary to give your readership a complete understanding of why I have declined comment.”
Now I am interested in the rest of the story.
Kay, and Lorenz are the ones that need to go!
Yes, Dennis, your language is not dispassionate or professional. I don’t know that Chip has a problem, or if dumping the CSC is right or wrong, but this is another example of your writing becoming more shrill and partisan over time. Without a local paper (effectively), this area needs honest, independent journalists to publicize local issues. You’re not providing that. I wish you were.