‘More pages’ likely in failed effort to hire Fort Smith internal auditor

Acting Fort Smith City Administrator Jeff Dingman has decided on a “progressive discipline” action against Chief Human Resources Officer Rick Lolley, but fallout related to the attempt to hire an internal auditor may not be at an end.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on April 22 unanimously approved a resolution to hire Rebecca Cowan for the position of internal auditor with an annual salary of $110,000. The internal auditor and the city administrator are the only two city jobs with which the board has direct hire-fire authority.

On April 23 it was reported that Cowan faced felony charges related to a 2024 stalking charge. On April 24, the board met in a special called session to rescind the resolution to hire Cowan. Board members interviewed by Talk Business & Politics said they were not aware of Cowan’s legal situation prior to the April 22 vote. The board also called on city administration to begin a new search without using an executive search firm.

The board on April 29 voted to authorize Dingman to “initiate” any appropriate disciplinary actions against Lolley, Based on responses from the city to previous questions by Talk Business & Politics, Lolley did not provide the board all the background info on an internal auditor candidate.

On May 2, Dingman provided the following email to board members.

“Mayor & Directors,
 
“At the Special Meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the Board of Directors, approved unanimously a motion “to direct Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman to initiate any disciplinary action concerning the Chief Human Resources Officer and then report to the Board of Directors in a swift and timely fashion.”
 
“This message is to inform the Board of Directors that disciplinary action has been taken, and Mr. Lolley acknowledged such action this afternoon. The disciplinary measure is compliant with the city’s policy of progressive discipline, and it does not involve suspension or termination of this employee. 
 
“As this disciplinary action does not form the basis for a decision to suspend or terminate the employee, the personnel records related to the action are not subject to public inspection or disclosure according to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(1).”

City Director Christina Catsavis, who was vocal about her displeasure with the internal auditor hiring process, said she is not happy with Dingman’s “progressive discipline,” suggesting instead that Lolley should have been fired. She said it’s possible the board “will be discussing it further” during an upcoming executive session focused on a review of Dingman. She also said Dingman should not have been involved in the process to hire an internal auditor.

Catsavis said she would like to see the board again be able to hire and hire department heads, adding that there are times board action “should be more decisive and more immediate.”

The Fort Smith board in 2013 shifted the hire-fire authority for department heads to the city administrator. In 2015 there was an effort to return that authority to the board, but the board voted 4-2 in February 2016 to keep the authority with the city administrator.

Director and Vice-Mayor Jarred Rego also believes the matter is not fully resolved.

“I think that the matter is probably ongoing,” he told Talk Business & Politics. “You know, we still have a vacancy in a very important position, and the whole process was not handled to everyone’s best capabilities. So I would imagine there are probably more pages to be written in this story.”