Fort Smith Director says citizens should ‘thoughtfully consider’ form of government

In response to a question about the process to hire a city administrator, Fort Smith Director and Vice Mayor Jarred Rego suggested the better question for city residents is about what form of government is best for the city.

With a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Dec. 10 fired City Administrator Carl Geffken, who had been in the job more than eight years. Geffken was hired to be the Fort Smith city administrator in March 2016 with a salary of $175,000. His annual salary when he was fired was $204,513.

Since Geffken’s firing there has been little information from the city about the search for a new administrator. Talk Business & Politics on May 22 sent all seven city directors six questions about the process, or lack thereof, to hire a city administrator.

Rego did not directly address all six questions, but broadly responded with a note suggesting that city officials and residents may want to first consider the “structure by which it wishes to be governed.” Fort Smith in March 1967 changed from a mayor/commissioner system to a city administrator/board of directors form of government.

“Determining who is going to be the next full-time City Administrator is a critical responsibility of the Fort Smith Board of Directors and it’s one we take seriously,” Rego noted in part of his response. “However, at this natural juncture of change, it’s essential for the community to thoughtfully consider the structure by which it wishes to be governed. If residents have perspectives to share, I would encourage them to connect with City Directors.”

Rego also noted: “Any questions about process and procedure are window dressing around the central topic of how we wish to govern ourselves.”

THE PROCESS
City residents could use a petition process to call for a vote on the form of government, or the Fort Smith board could approve an ordinance setting a vote to change the form of government, according to Fort Smith City Clerk Sherri Gard, who referenced state law on the matter.

If the form of government is changed to a mayor/city council, there would not be a separate election for the mayor and council members.

“The mayor shall continue in office until the remainder of his or her term of office; and, The member of the city board of directors shall become a member of the governing body and shall continue in office until the remainder of his or her term of office,” according to Arkansas law (14-48-105).

Also, if voters approved a change in government to mayor/council, an election would have to be held to elect a city clerk and a city attorney. The Fort Smith city clerk is now a city employee, and the city contracts with Fort Smith-based law firm Daily & Woods for legal work. The law also calls for an elected city treasurer, or an ordinance from the governing body making the treasurer job an appointed role.

Gard told Talk Business & Politics she is not aware of a citizen-initiated petition having been presented to the mayor, which is required under state law, to change the form of government.

Former Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders said he feels “very strongly” that Fort Smith needs a “professional” managing the city’s many day-to-day operations. Sanders, who served 8 years as mayor between 2011 and 2018, said he would “absolutely” actively campaign against an effort to change the form of government away from what it is now.

“We need somebody who is a professional and not somebody that thinks it would be a fun gig or something to do,” he said. “You’ve got a thousand people who work for (the city). … In today’s complexities, I think we need to have somebody that has the experience, the education, the background to manage a wide variety of everything from police and fire to transit to sanitation, to water.”

REGO RESPONSE
Below is the complete response from Director Rego to questions about the process to hire a city administrator.

“Determining who is going to be the next full-time City Administrator is a critical responsibility of the Fort Smith Board of Directors and it’s one we take seriously. However, at this natural juncture of change, it’s essential for the community to thoughtfully consider the structure by which it wishes to be governed. If residents have perspectives to share, I would encourage them to connect with City Directors. 

“Any questions about process and procedure are window dressing around the central topic of how we wish to govern ourselves. Sometimes internal HR departments handle hiring well, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes search firms handle hiring well, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes internal candidates are great, sometimes external candidates are great. 

“I would hope that by the Fall of 2025, the people of Fort Smith will have made their voices heard in this process and helped us identify the leadership structure that they want to see. This is a vitally important moment in the history of our city. Whatever determination is made, the next executive leader of Fort Smith should be a person with a strong communications toolset, the ability to demonstrate patience and temperance in handling difficult situations, and, crucially, they must posses and convey a clear and positive vision for the future of Fort Smith.”

Editor’s note: Talk Business & Politics will post a story later this week that includes responses from other directors about the search for a city administrator.