City rehires former attorney to help regain residents' trust

He quit Cave Springs post in August amid conflicts

Justin Eichmann
Justin Eichmann

CAVE SPRINGS -- A former city attorney has returned to his old job in Cave Springs with a plan to help officials regain residents' trust after months of political upheaval in the Northwest Arkansas town.

The City Council held a work session and special meeting last week and unanimously voted Justin Eichmann in as city attorney, returning him to the position he resigned from Aug. 29.

Eichmann cited differences with Mayor Travis Lee on the direction of the city as the reason he resigned.

At the special meeting, Eichmann handed out memos charting what he believes the city must do in the future after months of infighting between Lee and other city officials.

"I said I thought we should go back to basics and focus on a couple of fundamental issues and get them right, because, if you don't, nothing else would work," he said.

Eichmann urged city leaders to focus on restoring public trust in the city's financial data, implementing a process that focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the City Council, and ensuring the city government follows the state's Freedom of Information Act.

"I think we have a lot of work to regain trust and get people comfortable and confident that we can improve things going forward," Eichmann said.

Lee and Treasurer/Recorder Kimberly Hutcheson have been locked in a dispute since September, when Lee sent Hutcheson home and blocked her from accessing city computer data. Lee said he did so because Hutcheson had mistreated city workers.

The bitterness spilled into Lee's relationship with City Council members, as they disagreed over issues including spending and connecting the city to the Razorback Greenway shared-use trail system.

Lee said he looks forward to Eichmann helping the city, and he went on to thank two aldermen he had been at odds with.

"I want to compliment Mary Ann Winters and Larry Fletcher for facilitating this whole thing and making sure it happened. They're the ones who got [Justin] on board," Lee said.

Winters said Eichmann's presence is reassuring because she and fellow city officials are familiar with him. However, she said she'll continue to speak her mind.

"I fight for what is right. I will continue to do that," she said.

Eichmann said he's confident city officials can regain some degree of trust.

"We need to work on everybody understanding their role. I hope they are ready to do that," he said. "We need to slow everything down and do the basics and make sure everyone focuses on their role. That will not necessarily make everyone best friends, but it will reduce the tension."

Robert Smittle, who has lived in Cave Springs since 1969, said he hopes Eichmann will help Cave Springs.

"Justin did a good job before, and I think he'll do us a good job now if we let him," Smittle said. "If the mayor and the council will let him do a job, I think he will do a good job."

Eichmann isn't under contract. He will receive $175 an hour and a $250 fee for city meetings. The rate is the same he received during his previous stint as city attorney, which lasted about 12 years, he said.

Eichmann previously worked an average of five to 10 hours a week, but he said he doesn't know how many hours he will work to help the city this time around.

Tom Guarino replaced Eichmann as city attorney in November.

During a Jan. 10 meeting, council members went into executive session to discuss the jobs of 10 employees the City Council fired a week earlier. Guarino objected immediately after Fletcher made the motion to go into executive session, saying that would violate the Freedom of Information Act.

Guarino also said in January that Winters objected to his findings from an investigation into city spending. Guarino quit in February.

Metro on 04/24/2017

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