Police, Fire Dispatch System Part Of Fort Smith Budget Priorities; New City Hall Discussed

FORT SMITH, Ark. (TB&P) — The Fort Smith Board of Directors decided to keep most of the city-wide budget goals set in 2019 as priorities for the 2020 budget at a special budget study session Friday (June 21).

The list of goals includes 12 items and lists four spending priorities for the budget as the No. 1 point. Those spending priorities include police department critical equipment, pay increase for employees, additional LOPFI (police and fire pension) contributions to reduce the outstanding pension liabilities and a General Fund Capital Improvement Program. These are the same four spending priorities set in the 2019 budget.

Interim Chief Danny Baker said he did not think the department would need to keep having that item on the budget priority list because of a seven-year plan approved with the 2019 budget that has the department’s fleet receiving a number of new vehicles each year.

To read more on the budget for Fort Smith and its new City Hall, you can visit our partners at Talk Business & Politics.