OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fort Smith Civil Service Commission Meeting: Election of Chairman and Public Safety Impact Discussion - May 4, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, May 4, 2026
BodyFort Smith, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, May 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 16:23

Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Alright, roll call um Dr.

0:14

Goodman.

0:14

Yes, ma'am.

0:15

Marty Shell.

0:16

Here.

0:16

Orpal Smith.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Matt Garner.

0:19

Here.

0:19

Chris Boyd.

0:21

Here.

0:21

And Alex Sanchez is absent.

0:30

All right.

0:31

So the only thing that we have on our agenda today is to elect a chairman.

0:36

Does anybody have any nominations?

0:40

I left our current chairman to be chairman again for the upcoming year.

0:45

Second.

0:47

I even came to the meeting.

0:52

All right.

0:52

So let's see.

0:54

Dr.

0:54

Goodman.

0:55

Yes, ma'am.

0:56

I'll pass.

0:59

Marty Shell?

1:00

Yes.

1:00

Orville Smith?

1:02

Yes.

1:03

Matt Garner?

1:04

Yes.

1:05

Chris Boyd.

1:06

Yes.

1:10

All right.

1:11

So unanimously with Dr.

1:13

Goodman passing.

1:15

He's been re-elected.

1:17

Congratulations.

1:19

Thank you.

1:19

You know these things will talk back to you.

1:21

Yeah.

1:23

Be careful.

1:26

Does anybody else have anything to discuss?

1:28

Do we have any uh applications for the vacancy?

1:32

Yeah.

1:33

Um to my knowledge, they didn't.

1:35

This last guy round, and they were going to re-advertise and try to find somebody for us to fill our vacancy.

1:49

We just we appreciate everything y'all do for us as well.

1:51

So the mic's yours if you need it or want it.

1:56

I always take the opportunity.

1:58

Um just I guess maybe as an update, but uh I'm sure you're all aware that we took some as the fire department did as well, some budget cuts this year, uh lost eight police officers position.

2:12

So I mean we're we're continuing to conduct business, but I mean that always has consequences overtime is up, and you know, especially when we have things weekends like we did this weekend, uh really puts a strain on them.

2:28

So but we're fully staffed.

2:29

I think we've got one uh vacancy out of 160.

2:35

Uh we've exhausted the existing eligibility list, so we'll be doing another hiring process here in the near future, and hopefully I've told them to target uh certified people.

2:46

I've I've always kind of maintained a gentleman's agreement with agencies that are around Fort Smith and not like recruit out of uh uh other houses, but they don't seem to have a problem doing that with us, so I think it's time to take the gloves off and just give some some certified people to fill that position.

3:06

But we're in a good place.

3:08

Uh officer morals seems to be good, not have any serious disciplinary issues.

3:12

Uh would and uh hopefully hopefully come next budget season we'll be able to get some or all those positions back.

3:21

I know the city director said that they wanted a quarterly, was a quarterly report from both the fire and the police about that situation.

3:29

I know we're done with the first quarter going in the second quarter.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████86%
Personnel Matters████7%
Budget Equity Analysis████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Fort Smith Civil Service Commission Meeting: Election of Chairman and Public Safety Impact Discussion - May 4, 2026

The Fort Smith Civil Service Commission met at 8:30 a.m. on May 4, 2026, at the Blue Lion in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Commissioners present: Dr. Cole Goodman (current chairman), Marty Shell, Orval Smith, Matt Garner, Chris Boyd. Commissioner Alex Sanchez was absent. The primary agenda item was to elect a chairman for the upcoming year, with additional discussion on a commission vacancy and updates from the police and fire chiefs regarding the impact of budget cuts that took effect at the start of 2026.

Discussion Items

  • Election of Chairman: Marty Shell nominated the current chairman, Dr. Cole Goodman, for another term. Chris Boyd seconded. The commission voted unanimously in favor, with Dr. Goodman passing on voting. Dr. Goodman was re-elected.

  • Commission Vacancy: Lindsey Kaelin (city staff) reported that no applications had been submitted to fill the vacant commissioner seat. City Administration will re-advertise the position.

  • Police Department Impact (Chief Baker): Chief Baker reported that the police department is currently almost fully staffed (159 of 160 positions filled) but noted the loss of eight officer positions due to budget cuts. He stated that overtime has increased, especially during large events, and that community involvement has decreased as officers are busier with core duties. One of four separations since the cuts cited the cuts as a contributing factor. The department plans another hiring process later in 2026, focusing on recruiting already certified officers, and will prepare a quarterly impact report for the city board.

  • Fire Department Impact (Chief Clark): Chief Clark stated that the fire department eliminated an entire engine company (reducing from nine to eight), requiring a 2–3 year process to reopen fully. This would involve hiring nine personnel and acquiring a million-dollar replacement truck. A battalion chief position was also eliminated, increasing administrative workload. The closed station (at Chaffee Crossing) accounted for about 2.5% of total runs combined, but that volume is expected to grow with new development and the opening of Highway 49. The department has four vacancies and still has an eligibility list, but candidate quality declines further down the list, and about 40% of recruits fail the TAC program. Chief Clark emphasized that the department has nothing else to give up without harming public safety and hopes to maintain its ISO Class 1 rating, though the scoring system is changing.

  • Commissioner Marty Shell's Remarks: Commissioner Shell highlighted that over the recent weekend, the city of 90,000 simultaneously dealt with a chemical spill, a motorcycle rally, and a homicide, straining police and fire resources. He urged commissioners to remind city board members that public safety should be the city's top priority and that the departments need full support.

Key Outcomes

  • Re-elected Dr. Cole Goodman as Chairman for another term (motion by Marty Shell, second by Chris Boyd; all approved except Goodman who passed).
  • No action on commission vacancy; city administration will continue to seek applicants.
  • No formal vote on budget cuts or staffing; chiefs' reports were informational.
  • The meeting adjourned after concluding business.

Meeting Transcript

Alright, roll call um Dr. Goodman. Yes, ma'am. Marty Shell. Here. Orpal Smith. Here. Matt Garner. Here. Chris Boyd. Here. And Alex Sanchez is absent. All right. So the only thing that we have on our agenda today is to elect a chairman. Does anybody have any nominations? I left our current chairman to be chairman again for the upcoming year. Second. I even came to the meeting. All right. So let's see. Dr. Goodman. Yes, ma'am. I'll pass. Marty Shell? Yes. Orville Smith? Yes. Matt Garner? Yes. Chris Boyd. Yes. All right. So unanimously with Dr. Goodman passing. He's been re-elected. Congratulations. Thank you. You know these things will talk back to you. Yeah. Be careful. Does anybody else have anything to discuss? Do we have any uh applications for the vacancy? Yeah. Um to my knowledge, they didn't. This last guy round, and they were going to re-advertise and try to find somebody for us to fill our vacancy. We just we appreciate everything y'all do for us as well. So the mic's yours if you need it or want it. I always take the opportunity. Um just I guess maybe as an update, but uh I'm sure you're all aware that we took some as the fire department did as well, some budget cuts this year, uh lost eight police officers position.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com