Chip Sexton wins first annual vote as chair of Fort Smith Civil Service Commission

Attorney Chip Sexton was unanimously approved as the chairman of the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission on Monday (May 7) following the recommendation of fellow commissioner Bob Cooper. There were no other recommendations.

Sexton has served as commission chairman for “longer than I can remember,” Cooper told Talk Business & Politics following the vote, but this is the first time he’s been elected to the position since the city implemented new rules calling for an annual vote among commissioners.

Over the last year, Sexton came under close scrutiny by the Fort Smith Board of Directors and city administration when the then-five-member panel did not allow a vote on a request from Police Chief Nathaniel Clark. Clark wanted to consider external applicants in the hiring of upper-level officers, bucking the trend of promoting officers from within the police department.

The incident touched off a series of events that witnessed Director André Good calling for consideration via email and public meeting of the commission’s dissolution. Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen, Sexton’s business partner, would later file a successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit over the email string, which the city plans on appealing to the Arkansas Supreme Court later this year. The Board also voted to include two positions to the Civil Service Commission in late 2017, adding commissioners Robyn Dawson and John Walker.

As a result of the lawsuit, the Board voted to approve a recommendation Sexton recuse himself from commission business as long as the matter was pending. He did so. Sebastian County Circuit Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh ruled in McCutchen’s favor in January.

Of the last year’s tensions, Sexton told Talk Business & Politics Dawson and Walker “are good members,” adding they have “helped make amends with the city.”

“We’ve surely tried to make amends with the city and never intended for there to be anything but harmony between us,” Sexton said.

In explaining his nomination of Sexton, Cooper said, “I’ve been on the commission for quite some time, probably the longest-serving, and I just appreciate the legal background that he brings to the table. As far as the flow of meetings and keeping order according to our rules and all — I’ve seen us operate when we did not have a chair with some legal background, and this is so much better.”

Commissioner Marty Shell echoed those remarks.

“Chip Sexton really does have the legal experience to move things along, and he kind of runs it like a courtroom would be run. I feel the same way.”

As chairman, Sexton guides the decision-making process of the Civil Service Commission, which serves “at the behest of the city on an as-needed basis,” Sexton said. “We don’t have an agenda. Our agenda is to help the city and make sure that duties given to us are complied with.”

The commission writes and enforces rules and regulations governing the city’s police and fire departments. The rules provide for the qualifications of applicants for appointment. The commission’s job also includes the applicant vetting process, and they hear appeals by employees of the departments concerning disciplinary actions. In February, for example, commissioners overturned the city’s termination of veteran police officer Lindsay Herring.