Frank Scott Jr.'s first day in office was one of prayer and celebration. His next few days, the new Little Rock mayor said, were ones of listening and learning.
The beginning of Scott's tenure marks the first transition of power for the city's top political office in 12 years, as well as the first since an ordinance strengthened the office in 2007.
Since winning a Dec. 4 runoff, Scott, 35, has laid the groundwork for a 60-day transition that will allow him to familiarize himself with the city's departments, boards and commissions, determine their impact and form a plan to implement policy. He has named a transition board of directors and a team of advisers that will guide the process.
"I understand Little Rock has not seen this before, and that's what comes with change," he said, speaking to reporters after his inauguration in front of a packed auditorium in the Robinson Center. "Each transition process is an opportunity to review what has been done in the past, review what's going on in the present, so we can appropriately focus on the future."
On his second day, Scott and his advisers met with City Manager Bruce Moore and department heads. The mayor said he felt it was important to greet the city staff members and thank them for their service. He said he planned to meet with each department head individually in the coming days.
In December, Scott named 11 people to his transition board: Baker Kurrus, Scott's opponent in the runoff, as well as Jay Barth; Gus Blass III; Tamika Edwards; Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock; Kathryn Hazelett; Cristina Monterrey; Antwan Phillips; Will Rockefeller; John Rutledge; and Dr. Sara Tariq.
That panel will guide eight resident-led subcommittees addressing the areas of finance and administration; education; mobility; economic development; public safety; inclusion; quality of life; and transformation and government reform.
Each subcommittee will meet with the relevant city department, board, commission or public entity to "determine impact during the prior eight years," a Dec. 17 news release states.
The transition's advisers also include his campaign manager, Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock; Phyllis Dickerson, former Mayor Mark Stodola's chief of staff; Harriet Phillips, executive assistant to former Gov. Mike Beebe's chief of staff; and Kendra Pruitt, an attorney who worked on Scott's campaign.
The transition members are all volunteers.
Scott said the team will request reports from some entities and have questions for others. Based on the information gathered, the transition board will produce a report outlining a four-year road map for his term.
"We plan to learn and we plan to look, and then hopefully we'll finish and the board of directors will provide recommendations for change," he said. "Some things may not change, but some things will most definitely change."
Scott said a transition process like his has taken place in other cities of similar size.
Consulting with Stodola, whose last day in office was Monday, also has been a part of the transition process.
"Mayor Stodola and I have had dinner and we've had a couple different meetings," Scott said. "My senior team has met with his senior team to discuss transition, so I want to commend him for a great, smooth, productive and professional transition process between the two of us and our teams. I look forward to working with them in the coming days."
Stodola said he has had discussions with Scott about the responsibilities of the role and plans to offer him counsel on his ideas.
"I want to make sure he's a success," he said. "I think it's important to listen and be patient -- this is a big city, you've got a lot of people, different walks of life."
Stodola said he, too, met with department heads when he took office. He said he also familiarized himself with the city budget he inherited, finding things that he felt deserved greater attention. Scott said Tuesday that he planned to amend the 2019 budget, which city directors approved in December.
Stodola said he did not feel that having a team of advisers was necessary when he took office. City Attorney Tom Carpenter said there is precedent for mayors having their own committees and task forces during their tenure that are made up of residents and not city-funded.
The former mayor added that he hopes Scott will continue some of the things he started, such as the AmeriCorps neighborhood stabilization program, the Little Rock for Life nonviolence initiative and the Jericho Way Resource Center.
Scott said he has not yet made any personnel decisions. As of Friday, the city website listed an opening for the mayor's chief of staff and two openings for assistants to the mayor.
Stodola first hired a chief of staff in 2015, shifting Dickerson, who had been a city employee since 2005, into the role. As of Friday, the job was advertised with a salary of $60,074 to $92,514. Dickerson made $90,997 in 2018, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's online salary database.
The position is at-will, meaning the person who fills it can be let go at any time for any reason and cannot appeal the termination.
The other two listings were for an administrative assistant and for another assistant who would provide support that would include research and data analysis as well as serving as liaison for the Mayor's Youth Council.
The administrative assistant position was advertised as having a salary of $31,821 to $49,004, and the other assistant position salary was $54,889 to $81,449.
Stodola also had two assistants.
The application deadline for the three jobs was Friday afternoon.
During his campaign and after he was elected, Scott said he wanted to shift the office of the mayor to more of a policymaking role. Under Little Rock's current system of government, city department heads report to the city manager. Scott's plan is to convert the city manager into a chief operating officer. That person, as well as the city attorney and all department heads, would report directly to the mayor.
Voters approved an ordinance strengthening the mayor's office in 2007. Until then, it was a part-time, ceremonial position.
According to Ordinance No. 19761, the mayor's decision to nominate, hire or remove the city manager and city attorney must be approved by the city Board of Directors.
The mayor can nominate people for and fill any vacancy occurring on any board, authority or commission, but only with confirmation by the Board of Directors. That decision is also subject to advice by the ward representative where the nominee resides and other such advice given by at-large representatives.
State statute gives cities the authority to establish boards and commissions. If the mayor wanted to set up a city-funded board or commission using city staff members, the Board of Directors would have to approve it, Carpenter said.
The process for doing away with a board or commission would likely echo how the commission was established, whether by an ordinance or by a vote from the city board, he added.
Metro on 01/06/2019