More than 1,000 signatures gathered to change Fort Smith’s form of government

The effort to place a Fort Smith form-of-government question on the November general election ballot has approximately 1,100 signatures as of April 29, with about 30 volunteers working to gather the more than 2,600 valid voter signatures in the required time.

Initiative petitions must be filed at least 90 days before the next regular election, according to information from Daily & Woods, the city’s law firm.

During a March 10 study session the Fort Smith Board of Directors was informed of an effort underway to gather enough valid signatures to place an item on the November ballot to change the city to a mayor-council form of government. The board was scheduled to discuss during an April 28 study session the change of government process and realities of a mayor-council system. That discussion was moved to the May 12 study session.

In Fort Smith’s form of government, the city administrator is the CEO, managing an annual budget of more than $300 million and more than 1,000 city employees who provide safety, sanitation, water, sewer, and other key services to a city with a population of about 90,000.

Changing to a mayor-council form of government would place management responsibility with the mayor. Most large cities in Arkansas with a mayor-council government have at least one experienced city manager supporting the mayor in day-to-day operations. The mayor-council form of government would also include elections for city clerk, city attorney, and city treasurer, according to state law.

A successful initiative requires the signatures of 2,608 registered voters who are city residents. If the question is placed on the November 2026 general election ballot, and if voters approve a change in the form of government, the first election for officials in the new form of government would be in November 2028, and the new form of government with new officials would begin Jan. 1, 2029. A change of government question could be placed on the November 2026 ballot by an ordinance approved by the Fort Smith board.

Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen, one of the leaders of the petition effort, said the effort had “roughly 1,110” signatures as of April 29 gathered by “30 dedicated volunteers.” He said the Steel Horse Rally, held in Fort Smith on May 1-2, will help the group add to that number.

“As of now, we have collected roughly 1,100 signatures,” McCutchen said. “We expect that number to increase substantially in the coming days and weeks. We will continue circulating petitions across Fort Smith and plan to have petition-signing opportunities at major community events, including the Steel Horse Rally and the rodeo, among others.”

He said signature gatherers have been instructed on the legal process for gathering signatures. Following are the broad steps McCutchen outlined in a note to Talk Business & Politics.

• Before a person signs, the circulator confirms that the signer is a registered voter, at least 18 years old, and a resident of Fort Smith. Once that information is confirmed, the person may sign the petition.
• Signers are asked to complete the petition page carefully and legibly so the information can be reviewed and verified.
• After a petition page is filled, the circulator completes the circulator affidavit for that same page.
• The circulator then signs the appropriate section and provides the required information. This step is important because it confirms who circulated the page and allows the page to move forward for notarization.

Validating signatures and reporting the total number of valid signatures will be the responsibility of Fort Smith City Clerk Sherri Gard.

“The petition process is straightforward and being taken very seriously,” McCutchen said.

As of this posting, no group has formed to oppose the effort to change the form of government.