5 Fort Smith directors oppose hire/fire authority shift

Add Ward 2 Fort Smith City Director Andre Good to the list of city directors who oppose providing the city administrator with the authority to hire and fire department heads.

City Administrator Dennis Kelly first publicly presented his request to shift the hire/fire authority to the city administrator during a May 12 study session. Kelly formally pushed the request in his “Organization Analysis” released July 10.

City Directors Gary Campbell and Cole Goodman have said they support Kelly’s request, with Goodman saying he could understand Kelly’s desire to have the same control over department heads that the department heads have over their employees.

City Directors Don Hutchings, Bill Maddox, Kevin Settle and Steve Tyler have come out opposing the request. Tyler opposes providing hire/fire authority to the city administrator because he believes the citizens of Fort Smith still possess a raw mistrust of city government.

“After many conversations with citizens in and out of my ward, I am comfortable with leaving the hiring and firing issue just the way it is,” Good noted in a July 30 statement to The City Wire.

Continuing, Good noted: “The Mayor and Board of Directors are put in place and empowered to act in the best interest of its’ citizens. As we have demonstrated in the past, we are the “safeguard” and will act when needed to preserve Fort Smith’s future.”

Kelly’s analysis plan is to be part of special meetings Aug. 17 and Aug. 25 set to discuss the city’s 2010 budget cycle Each meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held at the Elm Grove Community Center at Martin Luther King Park.