The chief legal voice of Sebastian County confirmed in a press release on Monday what a number of citizens thought they already knew when he announced that emails discussing municipal business between three city directors and the city administrator violated tenets of the Freedom of Information Act.
Daniel Shue, the prosecuting attorney for Sebastian County, said that city directors Andre’ Good, Keith Lau and Mike Lorenz along with the top administrator for the city participated in a round robin chain of emails discussing Police Chief Nathaniel Clark’s proposal to allow the police department to circumvent the Civil Service Commission and hire from outside the FSPD for supervisory positions.
Shue’s statement read in part:
“I appreciate very much the valuable service performed by the Mayor, the Fort Smith City Administrator and the Fort Smith Board of Directors; however no violations like the ones that have occurred should be allowed to occur in the future. The public deserves to be privy to all of the Board’s hard work, not just some of it.
After a careful review of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act and the relevant law, it is the opinion of this office that a violation of the Freedom of Information Act has occurred in the emails dated May 20, 2017 through May 31, 2017, and the emails dated Aug. 9, 2017 through Aug. 11, 2017.”
While Shue did not address whether or not he had decided to file charges in the case, the announcement should strike a blow for transparency hat has been lacking at best and mocked at time by the triumvirate of directors who attempted to do an end around on the Civil Service Commission after that board voted to not allow Chief Clark the lee way he sought in making outside hires.
As late as last week, Lau was still maintaining in numerous Facebook posts that there was no FOIA violation, calling the investigation into the infractions a waste of taxpayers time and resources.
Local attorney Joey McCutchen, a staunch supporter of the Arkansas Sunshine laws, stumbled onto the illegal emails while researching another lawsuit filed by citizen Bruce Wade.
Earlier in the month, McCutchen filed a lawsuit naming the three directors individually for their part in the email chain and took his concerns to Shue.
Shue then initiated an investigation with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office which led to his statement on Monday.
In his first lawsuit, Wade had alleged that certain city directors violated the Freedom of Information Act by engaging in a secret email chain that constituted an informal meeting.
“This second lawsuit shows the arrogance of certain city directors when we provide them with a clear-cut statement of the law from the clear authority on the Freedom of Information,” said McCutchen.
The second lawsuit was filed against the City Directors as individuals in order to avoid costing taxpayer money in defending the lawsuit against the board members who had “thumbed their nose” at the requirements of law.
McCutchen had offered to settle the matter of BOD members would admit to their guilt and pledge to not use “secretive” email practices in the future, but the board had refused.
The announcement marks the second time McCutchen has spearheaded a fight for transparency that resulted in Shue finding violations.
Earlier in the year Shue announced that the Fort Smith School board had also committed violations of the Freedom of Information Act with emails while discussing the slate of candidates for the various officer’s position for that board.