FORT SMITH — Fort Smith will appeal a judge's ruling that city officials violated the Freedom of Information Act by conducting public meeting business through email.
The Times Record reported that City Administrator Carl Geffken said Tuesday that May and August emails between him and three city directors didn't violate the open-records law. The announcement comes despite a court order last week denying the city's motion for summary judgment in a civil lawsuit that alleged Fort Smith violated FOIA.
The lawsuit was filed by Bruce Wade, who ran for a spot on the city's Board of Directors last year and lost to Andre Good, one of the directors involved in the email exchanges.
A Sebastian County prosecutor issued a letter to the board in August, saying he and the sheriff's office would take further action if the emails continue.