By Scott Loftis
SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com
An attorney representing former Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation director Justin Huss filed a lawsuit last week in Carroll County Circuit Court against the city, its parks commission and Mayor Butch Berry.
Huss was hired as parks director in Eureka Springs in February 2016. He was fired after a special meeting of the Eureka Springs Parks Commission on Oct. 7, 2020, although the commission never held a public vote to terminate his employment.
At the Oct. 7 special meeting, chairwoman Ruth Hager announced that the commission would be going into executive session “to discuss a personnel issue.”
The commission returned to public session 59 minutes later. Hager asked if there were any motions and none were offered. After a motion to adjourn, the meeting ended without any further discussion.
Huss said four days later, on Oct. 11, that he received a text message on Oct. 9 informing him that he had been fired.
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act sets specific guidelines for public bodies going into executive session.
“(E)xecutive sessions will be permitted only for the purpose of considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignation of any public officer or employee,” the FOIA says, with the only exception being for matters related to the security of a public water system or utility system. “The specific purpose of the executive session shall be announced in public before going into executive session.”
Furthermore, the FOIA stipulates that: “No resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion considered or arrived at in executive session will be legal unless, following the executive session, the public body reconvenes in public session and presents and votes on the resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion.”
In the complaint filed by Eureka Springs attorney Tim Parker on Feb. 21 in Carroll County Circuit Court, Parker alleges that Huss’ firing was illegal because no vote was taken in open session.
Parker also writes that Huss had “raised the ire” of parks commissioners and other city officials by filing requests for information pursuant to FOIA and by filing multiple grievances about alleged illegal meetings of the parks commission.
The commission allegedly held an illegal meeting on Sept. 26, 2019, which was reported by then-employee in statements emailed to Huss. In recordings obtained by Carroll County Newspapers, the commission can be heard discussing topics including FOIA requests, hiring an auditing firm and their perceptions of a citizen who submitted more than 30 FOIA requests over a two-year period.
“In all respects the termination and firing of Huss from his position as Executive Director on or about October 9, 2020 was an illegal firing that violated the laws cited herein and was done in utter retaliation against Huss for actions legally undertaken as an employee of Parks,” Parker writes in the complaint. “Huss was fired because he had alerted others to the ongoing, illegal actions of certain commissioners of Parks. In short, Huss was illegally terminated because he was a ‘whistleblower.’ Accordingly, his termination by Parks was in complete violation of the law and was done so illegally, outside of an open public meeting as required by law.”
Parker’s complaint also alleges that shortly before he was fired, Huss approached Parks committee chair Ruth Hager and requested that his claims against the commission “be settled.”
Hager, in turn, presented Huss’ settlement request to Berry, the lawsuit says.
“Berry, in open violation of the autonomous status of Parks, instructed Hagar to refuse to settle with Huss instead demanding that Huss either resign or be fired,” Parker writes.
Parker says a text message from Hager to Huss reflecting Hager’s discussion with Berry and the mayor’s directive to Hager is filed as an exhibit with the complaint.
The lawsuit seeks lost salary, wages and benefits for Huss, attorney’s fees and court costs, punitive damages of $500,000 against Berry and compensatory damages of $350,000. The complaint also asks for a jury trial.
