FIX THE BASICS. OPEN FOR BUSINESS. DEMAND RESULTS.
A practical, business-minded plan to strengthen essential services, protect taxpayers, lower barriers to investment, and make City Hall accountable for results.
Water infrastructure and opening Fort Smith for business come first. Every priority below includes a detailed action plan—select the + to read it without leaving this page.
NUMBER-ONE INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITY
THE FUNDING PLAN TO REPLACE THE WATER TRANSMISSION LINE
BUILD THE FINANCING STACK. REPLACE THE LINE WITH URGENCY.
Establish the verified cost to replace the existing Lake Fort Smith transmission line, complete the engineering and right-of-way strategy, and combine grants, lower-cost public financing, regional participation, military partnerships, and long-term bonds into one coordinated capital plan.
$100MFederal & State Grants
$200MEPA WIFIA Financing
$75MArkansas State Financing
$100MWater Revenue Bonds
$25MRegional & Local Sources
$500M PROPOSED CAPITAL PACKAGE
ILLUSTRATIVE FINANCING TARGETS — Actual amounts depend on final project costs, eligibility, awards, financing terms, and city approval. No funding shown here has been secured.
1
GO AFTER MONEY WE DON'T REPAY
Every grant dollar reduces what residents must finance.
2
USE LOWER-COST PUBLIC FINANCING
Pursue WIFIA and Arkansas programs before relying entirely on conventional debt.
3
BUILD FEDERAL + REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
Review wholesale contracts on schedule, require fair regional participation, and pursue federal support tied to Ebbing.
PROTECT FORT SMITH RATEPAYERS
SHRINK THE AMOUNT WE HAVE TO FINANCE BEFORE WE DECIDE WHAT REVENUE IS REQUIRED TO FINANCE IT.
Grants → federal and military partnerships → WIFIA → Arkansas financing → regional participation → local resources → Fort Smith bonds.
YEAR 1Cost, engineering, right-of-way, dedicated grant writer, financing, dashboard.
YEARS 2–4Close financing in stages and build multiple packages.
YEAR 5Complete, connect, test, and report results.
Lower avoidable development costs, speed up decisions, and unite the A&P Commission, Chamber, and regional partners behind one message: Fort Smith is open for business.
SUPPORTING PRIORITIES
THE WORK BEHIND THE BIG TWO.
03
FISCAL CONSERVATISM
Stop the free-for-all spending. Fund infrastructure and core services first, and maintain what Fort Smith already owns before adding amenities or new long-term costs.
04
PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST
Close the police and fire salary gap without cutting their budgets. Automate City Hall, cut unnecessary property and lease costs, and redirect verified savings to frontline pay.
05
BUILD THE PIPELINE
A City Business Liaison will actively seek development opportunities, fill and manage a smart pipeline, and use the data to understand where Fort Smith wins, loses, and must improve.
06
MODERNIZE CITY HALL
Automate repetitive internal workflows, eliminate duplicate work, measure department performance, and redirect verified savings toward essential services.
07
BUILD NEW LEADERS
Revive the citywide Citizens Academy alongside Police and Fire academies, add Junior Academies and mentorship, and reconnect residents directly with departments and city leaders.
08
COMPASSION + ACCOUNTABILITY
Pair one year of intensive case management with a clear one-warning encampment ordinance. Measure the results, continue what works, and strengthen lawful penalties if conditions do not improve.
WATER. SAFETY. STREETS. SANITATION. MAINTAIN BEFORE WE EXPAND.
A CORE STRATEGY FOR EVERY POLICY
TRANSPARENCY THROUGH DASHBOARDS.
Residents should not have to dig through reports or wait for a crisis to learn how the city is performing. Fort Smith should publish simple, regularly updated dashboards that show the goal, the money spent, the current result, the trend, and who is responsible.
IF WE CANNOT MEASURE IT, WE CANNOT MANAGE IT. IF THE PUBLIC CANNOT SEE IT, CITY HALL CANNOT CLAIM ACCOUNTABILITY.
BUILD ON WHAT ALREADY EXISTS
FORT SMITH ISN'T STARTING FROM ZERO.
The city has already begun the 48-inch water line, offers online permitting and licensing through CityView, publishes reports and project pages, supports homelessness services, and operates police and fire citizen academies. My plan is to finish, connect, measure, and publicly report that work at a much higher standard.
Transmission-line progress, funding, costs, deadlines, system risks, water loss, and meter replacement.
02
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Every major opportunity from prospect to completion—including stalled and lost projects.
03
PUBLIC SAFETY
Police and fire staffing, vacancies, turnover, response times, overtime, equipment, and market pay.
04
CITY BUDGET
Spending against budget, amendments, reserves, contracts, department results, and projected shortfalls.
05
PERMITTING + DEVELOPMENT
Approval timelines, inspections, outstanding requirements, project costs, and department response times.
06
STREETS + CORE SERVICES
Street conditions, repairs, drainage, sanitation, sewer projects, schedules, and spending.
07
CITY PERFORMANCE
A focused 10–15 measure scorecard showing whether City Hall is meeting its most important goals.
08
HOMELESSNESS OUTCOMES
Services accepted, housing placements, employment, repeat contacts, program costs, and measurable results.
CLEAR TARGETS. REGULAR UPDATES. PUBLIC RESULTS. NO HIDING THE BALL.
FORT SMITH BUILT
ABOUT CASEY
I’m Casey Millspaugh, a lifelong Fort Smith resident, local business owner, and proud product of this community. I attended First Lutheran, graduated from Southside High School, and earned my Business Administration degree from UAFS. I spent 20 years with UPS working directly with businesses throughout the River Valley and Arkansas, and nearly a decade ago I started Fort Smith Popcorn, which has grown into a local employer while supporting schools and nonprofit organizations throughout our community. I’ve also had the opportunity to serve Fort Smith through organizations including the Parks Commission, Ales for Trails, and the Clayton House.
I’m running for Fort Smith City Director because I believe our city needs a stronger business mindset at City Hall and a renewed focus on the basics. We have serious challenges ahead—from our aging water infrastructure and rising costs to unnecessary regulations that make it harder to build, invest, and create jobs in Fort Smith. I’m not running to manage the status quo. I’m running to ask tough questions, demand accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent, remove barriers to economic growth, and make sure we finally address the infrastructure our city depends on. Fort Smith has invested in me my entire life, and I believe it’s time for me to give something back and help build a stronger city for the next generation.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. UNDERSTAND THE COST. EXECUTE THE PLAN. MEASURE THE RESULT.
