Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 12/16/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 12-16-25, the agenda included votes on the City taking over the County’s half of Parrot Island waterpark and extension of American Resort Management’s contract to manage the waterpark, but those items were tabled. Director Christina Catsavis motioned to table the items because she felt that they needed to go to study session first to comply with the recent ordinance requiring capital projects over $100,000 to go to study session because the management contract fees are $105,000 and the costs of projects at the park are capital expenses. City Attorney Roe said “It’s the Board’s call” on the interpretation of “capital projects” in the ordinance and that the waterpark lease and management contract extension is “not an acquisition.” The Board voted to table the waterpark issues until the first study session in January with all but Director Rego, Director Kemp, and Director Settle voting to table.

The Board voted to approve the final amended 2025 budget. Director Martin reminded that he did not vote in favor of the original 2025 budget because of his view that it was too heavy on expenditures. He mentioned that the final budget has “healthy fund balances in all these funds” and that it covers the debt service ratio needed to meet the bond covenants in the water and sewer fund. Director Settle mentioned the “healthy percentages” in contingency reserves and “cash in the bank.” All but Director George Catsavis and Director Christina Catsavis voted in favor of the final amended 2025 budget.

The Board voted to approve the 2026 operating budget. The 2026 operating budget is structurally balanced. It also includes contingency reserves in all 4 funds high enough to be above the 20% threshold required to allow for spending for capital projects. The general fund contingency reserve is 34.7% percent. The streets maintenance fund contingency reserve is 59.9%. The water and sewer operating fund contingency reserve is 37.5%. The solid waste fund contingency reserve is 36.9%.

The 2026 operating budget voted on at the 12-16-25 meeting includes reductions totalling $16,904,812 from the original version of the budget proposed and discussed at the November 17, 2025 budget hearing. 71 vacant staff positions will be eliminated. Some are part-time or seasonal, so the cuts are the equivalent of cutting 61.15 full-time positions. Vacant positions to be cut include 8 police officers and 6 firefighters. There will be funding for step raises for uniformed police and fire personnel and 2.5% raises for all non-uniformed personnel. Hiring for 3 new positions (Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Audio Visual Specialist, and an additional Neighborhood Services Inspector) is included. Overall, there is a reduction of $4,226,365 for personnel costs.

There will be a $34,581 reduction in funding for Miss Laura’s Museum (leaving their total funding at $233,742) and the museum will be making efforts to secure non-profit organization funding for their future funding.

There will be no funding for animal spay/neuter vouchers.

The funding for the Convention Center will be reduced by $235,880 (leaving their total funding at $559,392). A naming rights sponsor for the facility has been found.

Based on discussions at the 11-10-25 meeting, no new 911 dispatch facility will be constructed and no new radio equipment will be purchased. Instead, the consolidated 911 facility will be temporarily located at the current Fort Smith Police Department location.

Chief Financial Officer Richards said that it “has been a year of expressing concern for the general fund” and that past “spending patterns were not sustainable.” He mentioned that earlier in the budget crafting process there were $13 million in cuts needed to be made to make a balanced budget. He said that the version to be voted on at the meeting looks “like a healthy general fund to me” and is a “good path forward.”

Lavon Morton spoke in support of the budget. He also mentioned potential for tax revenues to increase in 2026 because of the property tax reassessment, Bass Pro Shop coming into town, and the positive impacts of tax law changes.

Krystal Cadelli spoke in support of the budget.

Shane McKinney spoke and advocated for adding funding support to repair the exterior of the Miss Laura’s building He mentioned that as an Air BnB owner, he receives a lot of positive feedback from tourists about Miss Laura’s.

Tommy Wagley spoke and advocated for adding funding support for exterior repairs for Miss Laura’s. He mentioned that $310,000 was previously allocated for the exterior repairs and asked “Where is this money?” Acting City Administrator Dingman responded that the money allocated for the repairs in the 2025 budget are still unexpended and that there is potential for the Board to consider using the money from the carryover dollars for those repairs. Later in the meeting, Director Good motioned for funding for Miss Laura’s to be added to a study session meeting. The issue will be added to a study session agenda in early January.

Director Christina Catsavis expressed concerns that the budget still outpaces what is sustainable. She asked Richards if the sales tax revenue is likely to increase in 2026. Richards answered that he is “neutral” on that and that there “could be some growth in sales tax” but that they “definitely don’t want to plan for large increases.” Director Christina Catsavis asked for clarification that the budget is not factoring in relying on water and sewer rate increases. Richards assured that it is not except for the 3% sewer increase that already passed. Director Christina Catsavis mentioned that she would rather view the police and fire personnel cuts as a “hiring freeze” rather than permanent cuts. She asked Police Chief Baker about his concerns about public safety as a result of the cuts. Baker said that it “certainly concerns me” and that it “could impact public safety in a negative way.” He said that he had hoped to add 5 officers per year starting in 2028. Director Christina Catsavis voiced her concern about the ISO rating being negatively impacted by fire personnel cuts and that causing an increase in insurance rates

Director Rego mentioned that the authorized cap in the budget for Police officers is being lowered from 168 to 160 and that there are currently 155 officers so there is still room for growth.

Director Martin called the budget a “good budget.” He mentioned that police personnel cuts are coming from the Crisis Intervention Unit, the Information Desk, and the Property Crimes division. He said that the Crisis Intervention officers will be integrated with regular field units and out on patrol and that the information desk may be staffed by non-uniformed employees. He suggested that the Board look at quarterly statements regarding the budget and be mindful of response times and maintaining the ISO rating and assess police and fire cuts based on impacts.

Director Good acknowledged that it is “hard to cut funding for things you want to support” and expressed concerns about the “unintended consequence” of service cuts.

Director Kemp agreed with Director Martin about quarterly updates.

Director Rego motioned to amend the budget to set aside $100,000 until March 1st to potentially utilize for the cemeteries if the City takes over Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. cemeteries. The Board voted against the motion with only Director Settle, Director Rego, and Director Good voting in favor of it.

Director Rego motioned to amend the budget to allocate $35,000 instead of $20,000 toward the Fort Smith Museum of History’s utility cost based on a request from the museum because their utility costs have increased. Director Kemp suggested that instead the issue could be revisited in the second quarter to address if the utilities costs rise. Director Christina Catsavis clarified that the museum has already seen the costs rise. She said that she does not have a problem with the cemeteries or the museum but would prefer to pass the budget first and then bring those items back as separate items. Director Martin agreed with Director Christina Catsavis saying of the budget “I don’t feel like we’re at the point to start adding stuff to it.” The Board voted against allocating a higher amount for the museum with only Director Settle, Director Rego, and Director Good voting in favor of the increased allocation.

The Board voted to approve the 2026 operating budget with all but Director Christina Catsavis voting in favor of the budget.

The Board voted unanimously in favor of entering into a contract with Francis Energy Charging for the installation, operation, and maintenance of electric vehicle chargers. The chargers will be dual port Level 2 and DC fast chargers. They will be located at City owned properties including the Main Library, West End Park, the Convention Center, Riverfront Park, John Bell Jr. Park, the Senior Activity Center, and the Miller Branch Library. The total cost of the project will be $3,250,000 but it will be paid for entirely by funds from the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant.

Jo Elsken spoke in support of the charges mentioning their impact on attracting visitors. She mentioned that Fayetteville has over 20 chargers.

Director Rego called the chargers “tremendously exciting.” He asked if they would generate any sales tax revenue. Citizen Services Director Robinson confirmed that they would as tax would be collected on each charging purchase.

Director Settle asked about the lack of locations on the east side of town and if there were City owned properties on that side that could be used. Robertson said that sites were considered and that none of the parks properties on the east side had enough parking to spare for the chargers and that the library was not close enough to the amenities and traffic corridors to make it a good location. He said that Francis helped choose locations that were most likely to have the most traffic and generate the most sales.

The Board voted unanimously to accept bids from APAC-Arkhola, Mid Continent Concrete, River Valley Quarries, and Emery Sapp for aggregate, sand, concrete, and asphalt products.

In the Officials Forum section of the meeting, Director Kemp mentioned that 4 candidates for the City Administrator position were interviewed via Zoom. He motioned to add an Executive Session discussion to the January 6th meeting for additional discussion about those candidates that were interviewed. The discussion will be added to the agenda.

Director Christina Catsavis asked for an update on the requested audit of Parrot Island. Dingman said that the cost is being figured and that per the contract with American Resort Management the cost of the audit will be considered part of cost of the operation of the waterpark.

Director Martin mentioned that Denali is getting ready to close their waste lagoon in Crawford County with the final cleanup planned for January 2026. He directed Administration to reach out to Denali to help coordinate dates for the cleanout so as to minimize the negative effects of the bad smells created by the cleanout as much as possible, like to avoid coinciding with known big planned outdoor events.

During the Executive Session, Daniel Mann was reappointed to the Advertising and Promotion Commission and Shirley Hartwig and Christopher Hooks were reappointed to the Library Board of Trustees.

The Board discussed Broylman Memorial Group potentially taking ownership of and responsibility for Holy Cross, Forest Park, and Rose Lawn cemeteries currently owned by Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc has asked the City to take over the cemeteries because they cannot afford to operate and maintain them. This issue was discussed at the 12/9/25 meeting.

Broylman is a Tennessee based company that owns 18 cemeteries in multiple states including 8 in Arkansas. They took ownership of Woodlawn in Fort Smith in January of 2025. Micah Brown with Broylman said that their cemeteries are self-sustaining and have no debt. He said that the company focuses on presales rather than sales at the time of need.

Their proposal includes paying Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. $50,000 for the cemeteries and includes provisions ensuring beginning with price matching and offering the same prices as offered at Woodlawn and then 3-4% increases annually for currently developed gardens, and continuing to offer free plots in the complimentary garden as is offered at Woodlawn. The agenda packet included a letter of recommendation for Broylman from Steve McDonald who was the former owner of 8 cemeteries acquired by Broylman in January 2025.

Director Christina Catsavis expressed concerns about the presale focused business model being a “ponzi scheme.” Brown responded that they operate within State guidelines. Director Christina Catsavis mentioned that many people rely on life insurance rather than pre-purchasing to cover funeral expenses. Brown said that it is better planning to pre-purchase rather than to depend on life insurance because of savings from avoiding the rapidly rising costs of funeral expenses. Director Christina Catsavis asked how many complaints Broylman has received. Brown answered “half a dozen” and mentioned that they have received 31 positive survey responses so far from customers since September.

Director Rego asked about the status of the relationship between Broylman and Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. Brown said that they have had a discussion and that Broylman has offered to take them over and then Broylman has “reached out a couple of times” since and Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. “have not responded.”

Director Kemp asked about whether Broylman would commit to making needed infrastructure improvements in the cemeteries including fixing flooding problems. Brown answered “absolutely.” He mentioned that when they took over Woodlawn the first thing they did was begin the process for an $18,000 repair project for 40 marble crypt doors that had been destroyed. He said that because they want to be the “premier” choice, they would have to address infrastructure problems. Director Kemp mentioned that Oak Cemetery as a City owned cemetery offers cheaper prices than other local cemeteries and asked if Broylman’s plan to price match would exclude matching with Oak. Brown said that they would not exclude Oak from the price matching saying “We mean everybody.” He said that grave opening/closing services would not be price matched as those rates are not adjustable per State rules. Director Kemp asked how things are going at Woodlawn. Brown answered “very well.” He mentioned that every cemetery that Broylman owns in Arkansas was in the negative when they acquired them and that all of them now are all together about $800,000 in the positive. Director Kemp asked about the “rainy day plan” for the cemeteries. Brown said that for non-profits, it is easy to just go into receivership but that it is more difficult in the State’s eyes for private owners to do so. They force private owners to exhaust every other option first. While Broylman prefers to operate each of their cemeteries separately, the State would force them to draw from their other cemeteries first before allowing one to fail. He said “They won’t let one suffer or go out of business.” He said that Broylman would not be allowed to just “close the gates” like was mentioned as a possible scenario for Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. Director Kemp asked if Broylman has received any maintenance notices from the City on Woodlawn. Brown said that they have not.

Director Martin asked about Broylman’s relationship with the State. Brown said that the State “seem to feel positive about our response time” to addressing issues. He said that they comply with everything for their permits and that the State is currently in the process of approving other cemetery acquisitions by Broylman. He said that the process is a “long process” taking about 3 months after applications are submitted.

Director Christina Catsavis asked Brown if he is aware of the $85,000 in liens on the cemeteries. He said that he is. He said that Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. would be responsible for the liens.

Director Martin asked how the cemeteries would be an advantage to Broylman. Brown said that “any cemetery” "operated the right way” is a “viable option for profit.”

Director Kemp called it “interesting” that Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. did not have a representative present at the meeting. He asked how long it would take for Broylman to take over if they were to take over. Brown said that it is likely that the State would be “compassionate” in light of the situation and allow Broylman to take over and operate the cemeteries under a management agreement while the approval process for the change in ownership was taking place. Director Kemp asked if the Board voted against the City taking ownership of the cemeteries and they end up in the court for receivership if Broylman would have an opportunity to be named the receiver and the City would be kept out of the issue. Brown answered “absolutely.” Director Martin pointed out that if Broylman were to acquire the cemeteries through receivership that Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. would receive no money from the transfer rather than the $50,000 offered by Broylman to take them without the receivership process.

Director Kemp directed Administration to try to facilitate a moderated discussion between Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. and Broylman. Director Martin mentioned that following discussion at multiple meetings the Board has still not chosen to put taking over the cemeteries on an agenda for a vote and said that that should indicate the “sentiment of the Board.” He expressed support for Administration “mediation to move this thing along.” Mayor McGill agreed.