The Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission did not vote to terminate Justin Huss as the city’s parks director, nor did Mayor Butch Berry order or carry out Huss’ firing, defendants in Huss’ lawsuit against the city recently acknowledged in court documents.
In response to a request for admissions filed by Huss’ attorney, Tim Parker, defense attorney Sarah Cowan of the Arkansas Municipal League writes in an Aug. 23 filing that Berry did not make the decision to fire Huss, did not fire Huss himself and did not instruct or direct anyone to fire Huss.
Instead, Cowan writes that parks commission chair Ruth Hager made the decision to fire Huss and did so in October 2020. Cowan also writes that the parks commission did not vote on Huss’ termination.
Hager had testified in a deposition taken in July that she made the decision to fire Huss without a full vote of the commission. She notified Huss of his termination in a text message on Oct. 9, 2020 — two days after the parks commission held a special meeting at which Hager announced that commissioners 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.
In her deposition, Hager testified that no action was taken because no decision was made during the executive session. “That’s not when it was decided to fire him,” she said.
Hager said she had the authority as chair to terminate Huss.
“According to the policies it does not require the votes of the other commissioners to fire the director,” she said.
Title 12, section 12.04.03 of the Eureka Springs city code — the section that outlines “powers” of the parks and recreation commission — states that “(t)he Commissioners may employ or remove managers, janitors or other employees of any nature, kind or character, and may fix, regulate and pay their salaries. The terms, conditions and benefits of employment and rights of any such employees shall be in accordance with those afforded to employees of the city.”
Hager said she made the decision to fire Huss because of performance issues including absenteeism. Parker’s complaint says 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 Arkansas Freedom of Information Act states that “(n)o 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.”
“Who decided you didn’t need a public vote?” Parker asked Hager.
“We all did,” Hager said. “Because we made no decision. We didn’t need a public vote because there was no decision made. I was going to make the decision as chair, which I knew I could, after we left the meeting.”
Parker filed suit on Huss’ behalf in February 2023 in Carroll County Circuit Court, alleging that Huss’ firing was illegal because the commission did not vote on the issue during open session.
Defendants in the suit are the city, the parks commission and Berry. 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.
