In a narrow 4-3 vote, the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Aug. 4) moved to hire Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman as the city administrator. The city administrator is hired by the board of directors and can be fired at any time by the board. Fort Smith has been without a city administrator for almost 20 months. Dingman, 54, previously served as interim city administrator in December 2024 and deputy city administrator beginning in 2011. Dingman then worked eight years as city administrator of Baldwin City, Kan., before returning as Fort Smith’s deputy city administrator in 2011.