Push on to hire Fort Smith auditor; city prosecutor, solid waste director hired

The Fort Smith Board of Directors want to expedite the process of hiring an internal auditor, a position open for almost a year. Tracey Shockley resigned as internal auditor after nine years, with her last day being April 1, 2024.

The city hired SGR, a Keller, Texas-based executive recruitment firm, to help fill the position. There have been seven or eight applicants for the position, according to Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman. Five of those were identified as meeting qualifications as ideal candidates, putting them in the A-tier from the recruitment firm, he said.

The city has a contract with accounting firm Baker Tilly for auditing services until an internal auditor can be found. The city pays $10,000 a month for that service. The internal auditor position has an annual salary around $120,000.

Director Neal Martin said Baker Tilly appears to be doing a good job, but several board members said the role needs to be done by someone working for the city.

“It doesn’t seem like it (having an outside company handling the audit) helps fight corruption or being on top of things,” said Director Christina Catsavis. “I think we definitely need to have an internal auditor. We need someone who is accountable, who is visible, and who we can point to that can answer our questions.”

Directors Lee Kemp and Jarred Rego agreed with Catsavis, saying they want interviews for the position to happen as quickly as possible.

“At this point, it’s kind of a professionalism issue,” Rego said. “We posted the position Jan. 7. Closed it Feb. 7. It’s coming up on a month since it closed. I would like to see some concurrence to directing administration to scheduling interviews with the people who remain in the pool. … We need to know how to proceed with those in the interview pool no later than the end of March.”

Dingman said the next step would be to instruct SGR to conduct video interviews, then bring the board finalists for the position. One of the five in the A-tier has been interviewed and eliminated from the field, he said. Directors agreed to go ahead with the next step.

OTHER OPENING, NEW HIRES
The city is also seeking to fill the newly created position of director of public safety communications. This position resulted from the consolidation of 911 centers within Sebastian County.

Duane McDonald started as the director of solid waste Feb. 3, filling a position left vacant when Nicole Riley resigned in fall 2024. McDonald relocated to Fort Smith from Bedford, Texas. He has a bachelor’s degree in general engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy. He was vice president of field operations with Revolution Systems LLC from March 2021 to January 2025.

Colton Pace was hired as city prosecutor in September, filling the position left vacant when Rita Watkins left in July. Pace has a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He most recently was a deputy prosecuting attorney with the 12th Judicial Circuit in Fort Smith and is the president of the Sebastian County Bar Association.