Fort Smith board may soon hire deputy administrator

The Fort Smith Board of Directors could hire a new deputy city administrator as early as Tuesday (April 19).

The position, with a salary in roughly in the $85,000 to $105,000 range, opened Jan. 4 when then Deputy City Administrator Ray Gosack, 52, was hired by the board as the new top administrator.

In early March, Gosack and the city’s six department heads began a nationwide search that resulted in 97 applicants. Only one internal candidate applied.

The city’s human resources staff narrowed the applicants down to about 25 who met the minimum requirements. The six department heads then narrowed the group to six applicants. Telephone interviews were conducted with the six, after which Gosack and the department heads narrowed the list to three, Gosack explained.

From early March to early April, the city staff quickly culled through the almost 100 applicants.

“We moved quickly because I did not want the applicant pool to go stale on us,” Gosack said. “If they are really good, they are probably considering other job offers, so I did not want our top candidate to go away before we could offer them a job.”

The three finalists are:
• Allen Barnes, Sachse, Texas
Barnes was the city manager for Sachse, a Dallas suburb, until earlier this year. He has more than 13 years experience in city management and has a master’s in public administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Barnes was recently a finalist — out of more than 80 applicants — for the city manager job in Denison, Texas (pop. 22,000). He did not get the job.

• Jeff Dingman, city manager of Baldwin City, Kan.
Dingman has been been the city administrator for eight years. He previously worked as the assistant county administrator for Sebastian County, 1999-2003. He has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.

• Anthony Mortillaro, Los Alamos, N.M.
Mortillaro, has about 30 years of local government experience, and was the assistant county/city administrator and county/city administrator for six years. He is now doing consulting work for a regional transportation authority in the Los Alamos area. He has a master’s of public administration from the University of Colorado.

Mortillaro was fired from the county/city administrator job Jan. 4 after a three-month investigation into more than 80 allegations of misconduct. According to this story from the Albuquerque Journal, Mortillaro faced allegations including gender discrimination, abuse of power and conflict of interest.

The Journal story included this statement from Los Alamos Council Chairman Michael Wisner: “While the county has conducted its review of an investigation into allegations made by a staff member, we report tonight that the end of the employment relationship with Tony is not based on any one finding or any specific acts. Simply stated, the council has determined, after a long and thoughtful debate and deliberation, that a separation of employment with Tony is necessary so we can move the county in a direction that best serves the citizens."

Gosack said he and the department heads are aware of Mortillaro’s dismissal.

The three candidates recently were brought to Fort Smith for a group interview with the department heads and a one-on-one interview with Gosack. Gosack also took the candidates on a tour of the city.

“They were very impressed with the city and what we have to offer, and with the staff and the city organization,” Gosack said.

During a planned executive session following Tuesday’s board meeting, Gosack plans to present the name of the person he and the department heads recommend. If the board confirms the hiring, the new deputy city administrator would begin work in early June, Gosack said.