Two unions push for recalling city directors

FORT SMITH — Local police and firefighter unions are leading efforts to recall three city directors for what they say is a failure to support Fort Smith’s public safety employees.

Fort Smith Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 33 President Darrell Clark said a petition drive to recall City Director Mike Lorenz will begin Saturday. Once enough signatures have been collected to place his recall on a special election ballot, police and firefighters plan to circulate petitions to recall City Directors Keith Lau and Andre Good, Clark said.

Fort Smith Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 39 President Anthony Parkinson said the unions will pursue petitions to recall Lorenz and gauge public support before deciding whether to seek recalls against Lau and Good.

Good and Lau did not respond to emails sent by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette seeking comment.

Clark said the idea is to have one recall election for all three city directors. He didn’t say when the election would be held. Parkinson said the unions were under no time constraints to have the elections.

According to Arkansas Code Annotated 14- 48-114, the number of petition signatures needed to recall Lorenz would total nearly 2,500, or 35 percent of the total votes cast in the last election where a race for Lorenz’s Ward 3 seat was on the ballot.

The two unions put out a statement on Facebook last week, signed by Clark and Parkinson, announcing the recall effort.

“No longer will we sit on the sidelines and tolerate city directors who refuse to do the right thing, who refuse to properly fund safety, who refuse to properly staff the police department, who don’t keep their promises, who don’t value city employees and who would rather dismantle or circumvent citizen committees/

boards when they don’t like a decision,” a portion of the statement said.

Clark said firefighters have not received pay raises they were promised and have fallen behind other wage earners. One firefighter, he said, had to take two other jobs to supplement his Fire Department income.

Parkinson said the Police Department has fallen behind on staffing, pay, vehicle replacement and equipment, which hampers recruitment and retention of officers and makes their job harder to do.

“When you fall behind, it’s hard to catch up all at one time,” Parkinson said.

Mayor Sandy Sanders acknowledged that the city has fallen behind on pay and hiring more employees, and that equipment needs to be upgraded.

“The challenge has been to find the funds to do that,” he said.

Parkinson said police officers realize that money is a problem, but he said that is the city directors’ problem to solve.

Lorenz, Lau and Good, along with City Director Tracy Pennartz, have voted consistently in support of Fort Smith Police Chief Nathaniel Clark’s effort to change Fort Smith Civil Service

Commission rules that would allow people outside the department to join inhouse officers in applying for supervisory positions.

In a contentious May 22 Civil Service Commission meeting, the commission took no action on Nathaniel Clark’s request. In emails after the meeting to City Administrator Carl Geffken, Good called for the commission to be dissolved. Lorenz also commented in emails.

Good, Lau, Lorenz and Pennartz passed a resolution asking the commission to reconsider and approve the proposed rule change.

They also passed a resolution calling for commission Chairman Chip Sexton to recuse from the commission while his law partner Joey McCutchen sued the city, charging that city directors violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act regarding their use of email.

Most recently, the four city directors passed an ordinance increasing the size of the commission from five to seven members.

Darrell Clark said he believed the city directors want to expand the commission so the board could push through Nathaniel Clark’s rule change.

In a statement issued Friday, Lorenz said he did not advocate elimination of the commission but questioned its function as duplicating that of the city’s Human Resources Department. Expanding the commission, he said, would “have a broader jury when making decisions” and bring its size more in line with that of other city boards and commissions.

In his statement, Lorenz said establishing the budget has been challenging because revenue has remained flat.

“I have held strong to the promises I made to improve accountability, fiscal responsibility and improve citizen access to information and have focused on eliminating waste and improving efficiencies in every department,” he wrote.

He said city directors have addressed deficiencies in the city’s Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System and have established as priorities for 2018 citywide employee raises, additional police and fire retirement system contributions and Police Department equipment.

The city directors are scheduled to vote tonight to buy a new ladder truck for the Fire Department at a cost of more than $982,000.