Lawsuit filed against Acting City Administrator over Internet Auditor hiring FOIA controversy

Today, Fort Smith attorneys Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano filed a lawsuit in Sebastian County Circuit Court against the City of Fort Smith and Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman for multiple violations of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Complaint stems from that the City’s failure to produce public records related to the hiring of Rebecca Cowan as internal auditor.

As you may recall, on April 22, 2025, the Fort Smith Board of Directors unanimously approved Cowan’s appointment as internal auditor at a salary of $110,000. Shortly after, it was revealed that Cowan was facing a pending felony stalking charge in LeFlore County, Oklahoma.

This information had not been disclosed to the Board prior to the vote. In response, the Board held a special meeting and voted unanimously to rescind the offer.

What followed after raised several red flags. The City publicly told Talk Business & Politics that Human Resources had completed a background check on Cowan and relayed it to Administration.

Mr. Dingman repeated that same claim in an email to McCutchen—saying he had received a hard copy of the background check but no longer had it. 

To uncover what actually happened during the hiring process, McCutchen filed a FOIA request seeking records related to the internal auditor position. The City and Mr. Dingman failed to respond to the request in a timely manner and did not provide all the requested records. Among the records withheld was an email exchange between Mr. Dingman and Board Member Christina Catsavis, in which Ms. Catsavis asked whether a background check had been done.

Dingman told Catsavis that he did not believe one had been performed. That email was never produced by the City and was only uncovered thanks to Director Catsavis, who forwarded it to McCutchen.

If a background check was in fact performed—as the City has claimed—then Mr. Dingman and the City destroyed a public record, denying the public the opportunity to review a document that should have been available under FOIA.

McCutchen stated, “The City is talking out of both sides of its mouth. The City and Mr. Dingman claimed to both the media and myself that a background check was done—but that it had somehow gone missing. Mr. Dingman then told a Board member that a background check wasn’t performed. The City either did a background check or it didn’t—but it certainly knows the answer. What’s even more concerning is that when I filed a FOIA request to get answers, the City not only dragged its feet—it failed to turn over an email that directly contradicts what the City told the public.'

McCutchen added, “The Board of  Directors needs to immediately investigate this matter. The board needs to find out the motivation behind these administrative actions. The public deserves truthful and transparent answers regarding our public business. There need to be

You can read a copy pof the complaint by clicking HERE.