Fort Smith, AR – Today, trial lawyers Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano, representing Fort Smith resident Brian Westney, filed a lawsuit against the City of Fort Smith and City Administrator Carl Geffken.
The lawsuit alleges that Geffken exceeded his authority by committing the City to significant financial obligations under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program without the necessary approval from the Fort Smith Board of Directors.
The CPRG program, administered by the EPA, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but comes with extensive obligations for participating entities. In July 2024, the EPA announced a $99,999,999 award to the Tri-Region Arkansas Coalition, with $14.5 million allocated to Fort Smith. This coalition includes Fort Smith and local governments from Central Arkansas (Metroplan), Northwest Arkansas, and the Arkansas River Valley.
The lawsuit focuses on two Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) that Geffken signed without the Board’s approval. These agreements, with the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment and Metroplan, require significant environmental planning efforts from the City, including developing a Priority Action Plan and a Comprehensive Action Plan.
Geffken certified that he had the authority to sign these agreements, but the lawsuit claims he did not have the Board’s authorization.
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment to void the agreements and prevent Fort Smith from accepting any grant funding related to the CPRG program due to Geffken’s actions.
McCutchen stated, “We have an elected board that should be involved in important decision-making matters, especially when decisions jeopardize local control. No one person should ever choose to bypass his boss, the elected board, when doing the people’s business.”
