Sebastian County Judge, Fort Smith Director not broadly supportive of NDAs

Neither Sebastian County or the city of Fort Smith leadership have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for economic development since Jan. 1, 2024. Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz said it is “reasonable” for the county to consider a policy outlining how NDAs are approved and retained for public review.

There has been growing scrutiny around the issue of local governments – cities and counties – signing NDAs with developers pursuing economic projects, with most of those involving construction of data centers.

According to Data Center Watch, around 75 data center projects worth around $130 billion were blocked or delayed in the first quarter of 2026, almost matching blocks and delays in all of 2025.

The NDAs seek to prevent the public from learning about project details, such as water usage, electricity consumption, location size, public incentives, and ownership info, until the project has been approved. The process provides no room for public input, with some NDAs keeping local governing bodies in the dark. The language in many NDAs prevent the document from being provided in a Freedom of Information request long after the project is complete.

According to the Law Depot, an NDA “is a binding contract that requires all parties to the agreement to keep specified information confidential. Non-Disclosure Agreements are standard in business and professional settings.” Further, an NDA “creates a written record of an agreement not to reveal the specified information to any unauthorized people or organizations. If a recipient fails to keep the information private or uses it for purposes other than the permitted purpose specified in the agreement, the disclosing party may have grounds to take legal action against them.”

The Oklahoman recently reported that several Oklahoma cities signed NDAs with developers, including one directly with Google, seeking to build data centers.

Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn recently instituted a policy requiring the signing of an NDA on behalf of the city to be approved by the mayor and city attorney, and “any future NDA’s be retained for a minimum of five years from the date of execution or until the project in question has completed its way through the public process, whichever is longer.” The NDA issue in Fayetteville emerged from approval of a drone manufacturing operation in the city.

Hotz told Talk Business & Politics he understands the need for an NDA in some cases, but is not sure he would sign an NDA for controversial projects like data centers.

“I’m open to the public knowing what is going on in their community, especially if it relates to a controversial issue,” Hotz noted in a statement. “I also understand that sometimes a business wants to keep things under the radar until they have secured options on land or buildings, in order to be able to purchase at a reasonable price. As long as a reasonable person would not believe a proposed venture to be controversial, I’m not overly concerned about signing an NDA. However, knowing  projects such as a Data Center are controversial, I would be reluctant to sign an NDA, as I would want to have input from those potentially impacted to have a chance to make their feelings known.”

Fort Smith Director Christina Catsavis said would rather pursue economic growth through transparency.

“As a general practice I am not in favor of NDA’s, while narrowly tailored confidentiality during active negotiations can sometimes be justified to protect legitimate proprietary information, the current practice of using broad NDAs that shield core impacts (water usage, power consumption, incentives, and ownership) long after projects advance is not in the public interest,” said Catsavis, who is a 2026 mayoral candidate. “Growth achieved through secrecy is not the kind of progress that I believe we should pursue. Transparency builds better deals, stronger community support, and lasting trust.”

All seven members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors were asked for their input about NDA policy. Only Director Christina Catsavis responded.