Hire-fire shift proposal rejected by Fort Smith Board

An effort by Fort Smith Director Christina Catsavis to shift the city’s hire-fire authority over department heads from the city administrator to the board was short-lived, with the board voting Tuesday (June 17) against her idea.

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.

Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman noted in a memo to the board that Arkansas has eight cities with a city manager or city administrator form of government similar to that of Fort Smith. Of those, the hire-fire authority rests with the manager or administrator, with the neighboring city of Barling having a process that requires concurrence from that city’s board to the administrator’s recommendation.

Catsavis on Tuesday made a lengthy plea to directors, saying there is a “concentration of power” with the city administrator who can punish department heads who may talk to or have a working relationship with a city director. She said a city administrator can create “toxicity” in the city staff that makes it difficult for the board’s governance vision to be enacted. She said “trust and transparency” with citizens will improve if the board has more responsibility with department heads.

“These positions are too important to be left to one person,” she noted in a June 4 statement to Talk Business & Politics. “The elected officials should be shaping the leadership of the city government, because we’re the ones responsible for ensuring city leadership reflects the values and priorities of the community we serve.”

But most directors pushed back against Catasavis’ argument. Director André Good said the board’s “heavy-handed influence” could create confusion about who department heads answer to. Kemp said the board’s role is to establish a vision and ensure a city administrator so that “policy is put into practice with excellence.”

“We already have a pathway to make our wishes known as a board” through a vote of no-confidence, Kemp said.

Director Neal Martin said he received “wise counsel” from area business leaders “who encouraged us not to do this.” Martin said they said the city, much like a business, works best with a board that provides oversight and guidance and a city administrator who runs the day-to-day operation.

Director Kevin Settle said a few years ago he would have supported a hire-fire shift, but has seen in recent years the city succeed with the policy now in place.

“City government is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Settle said. “They (city staff) are doing an excellent job, and we need to keep it like it is.”

The board also heard from Mayor George McGill and former Mayor Sandy Sanders who encouraged the board to keep the hire-fire authority with the city administrator. McGill said giving the board hire-fire power with department heads would “risk blurring the line between governance and management.” He said successful corporate structures and university systems leave the daily management with a CEO or chancellor.

Directors Catsavis and George Catsvavis voted to shift the hire-fire authority to the board, with Directors Kemp, Good, Martin and Settle voting against it.