Fort Smith board debates 15% cuts proposal, sets extra study sessions for budget review

Director Jared Rigo opened the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session Tuesday night by presenting a cuts proposal that would place a uniform reduction on 13 departments that receive support from the Water and Sewer Fund in order to free money for consent-decree work.

Rigo said the staff-level proposal was not intended as an “alternative budget” but as a conversation starter. "I want to apologize to any department head or city employee who feels nervous, troubled, or even perhaps angry about the contents of this proposal," Rigo said in his prepared remarks. He said a 15% permanent reduction across the 13 departments could generate “over $2,800,000 additional per year for consent decree work,” and that combining that sum with one-time spending reductions in the CUTS proposal could free about $1,100,000 more this year.

Why it matters: The board is confronting an adopted 2025 budget that staff say budgets a structural deficit and draws down reserves; members expressed interest in both near-term cuts and a longer-term shift to priority-based or…