What is the deal with no Study Session? Doesn’t the city of Fort Smith have some pressing business to decide? Why would Lau, Settle, Good and Lorenz vote against a study session? Do these guys feel they have all the answers? Isn’t the Aquatic Park or the 900 mass emails sent out by Ray Gosack instructing all city employees on the proper protocol to voice concerns, pressing business or a something to at least study? Oh well.
City Administrator Ray Gosack sends out a mass email to all 900 city employees enforcing the proper protocol for employees voicing concerns.
Apparently, there have been employees contacting board of directors about certain concerns within their immediate departments these employees felt weren't being heard or acted on by supervisors.
Ray stated in the article, "these actions are contrary to the city's policies, and undermine the form of government which Fort Smith voters have had in place for more than 45 years."
Last Tuesdays joint meeting between the city and county officials was interesting. The meeting was about what some in the community considered, the huge over selling of the "Aquatic Park". Although City Administrator Ray Gosack said during the joint meeting, while campaigning for the 1% tax extension, the conceptual drawing of the aquatic park was just that, a conceptual drawing and he was selling the $4 million in tax revenue for the park. I would bet he never told anyone the real aquatic park would be less than 50% the size of the conceptual drawing he was presenting to the electorate
It is quite exciting and refreshing to have a plain spoken guy like Congressman Tom Cotton representing a majority of Arkansans who feel we need a more responsible government. Responsible in the same simple approach to good fiscal policy in Washington that is required in our own checkbooks.
It is refreshing to have a director like Phil Merry who tried to create a more “citizen friendly” animal control ordinance without all the heavy fines some other directors were supporting.
Isn’t it kinda funny how Directors Phil Merry and Pam Weber are lambasted over the animal control ordinance, but it was actually George Catsavis, not Pam, who seconded Phil Merry’s motion to place the animal control ordinance on this Tuesdays agenda. And really, Merry’s animal control ordinance plan is citizen friendly, maybe that is the reason it is so unpopular with several of the other directors, who apparently are seeking additional revenue. You see, Merry’s plan actually allows for positive steps to be made without heavy fines.
Could someone please explain to me why the $271.4 million, 2013 Budget for the City of Fort Smith is TWICE the size of Fayetteville’s 2013 Budget of $134.8 million?
It can’t be growth, because Fort Smith has been growing at 7% the past 10 years, while Fayetteville has been growing at 27% the past 10 years. It can't be because Fort Smith is so much larger, because FS has only 8400 more in population.
A Director may even want to know why, so please, some smart number cruncher, give us the answer, why?
Let’s take a look at some real MICROMANAGING, shall we…the last BOD meeting director Kevin Settle threw a little tantrum to the point of demeaning other directors, while making an absurd motion to table what should have been a simple vote to approve the winning competitive bidder for the city’s uniform supply service contract. One would have to question, why is Kevin Settle MICROMANAGING this contract so close? It was a simple choice… HONOR the lowest bidder. Uniform supply service isn’t rocket science!!
If you attended the directors meeting last night, or watched by TV, you might have walked away kind of dazed or at least curious, how business is done in Fort Smith.
I found the ad in Sundays SWTR against George Catsavis quite interesting. The ad was paid for by Walton Maurras and stated “George Catsavis voted twice in the last 12 months to increase your monthly Sanitation Fee by $2.63 per month; city wide this is an annual increase of $904,919.” What Mr Maurras didn’t state was George Catsavis was clearly representing the citizens of this great city, which is virtually non-existent today, and more specifically, the neighbors of Park Hill in their attempt to maintain trash pickup in the alley, the way the neighborhood was originally designed.
