Small Town Using Public Funds to Finance Private Interests...

“Your tax dollars at work” in big and small towns. We’ve heard it time and time again… but at work for what, exactly?

The purpose of the lawsuit is to prevent Mayor Russell and the city of Tontitown from “continuing public funds for private purposes.” You can read more about it here.

See the Press Release from January 7, 2025 below:

Press Release

Joey McCutchen

Office: 479-783-0036

Cell: 479-806-4878

Today, trial lawyers Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano, representing Mick Wagner, filed a lawsuit in Washington County  Circuit Court against the City of Tontitown and Mayor Angela Russell for unlawfully appropriating taxpayer money to pay for private legal representation for a group of citizens, including Mayor Russell herself, in a lawsuit opposing the expansion of the Eco-Vista landfill in Tontitown. Mayor Russell owns property adjacent to the landfill and has openly opposed its expansion. Article 12, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution prohibits municipalities from using public funds to finance private interests. Over $15,000 of taxpayer money was used to pay the Richard Mays Law Firm for representing the interests of these private citizens. This unlawful expenditure constitutes an illegal exaction under the Arkansas Constitution.

Plaintiff is seeking a declaratory judgment that the use of taxpayer funds by the City of Tontitown and Mayor Angela Russell was unlawful and violated the Arkansas Constitution. Plaintiff is also requesting a permanent injunction prohibiting the City and Mayor Russell from using public funds for private purposes and seeks an order requiring the Defendants to reimburse the City of Tontitown’s general fund for the unlawful expenditure.  

A copy of the Complaint is attached.

McCutchen said, “The use of taxpayer dollars to pay for private legal representation is a blatant violation of the Arkansas Constitution.”

Joey McCutchen

Trial Lawyer

“Protect the 7th Amendment; it’s the one that protects all the rest.”

McCutchen Napurano – The Law Firm
P.O. Box 1971, 1622 North B Street
Fort Smith, AR 72901

Office: (479) 783-0036    Fax: (479) 783-5168

#    #    #

As always, our articles may be viewed on our website at  SecureArkansas.com. Once there, you may:

• view current articles on the main page;
• view older articles by clicking “Posts & Articles” at the top left of the main page and scrolling down.
• view additional past articles by clicking the “Next Page” button at the bottom right.

To find information about a topic, just type it into the Search box on our website, and click Enter!

Click here if you’d like to sign up to receive Secure Arkansas email alerts.

Securing the blessings of liberty,

Secure Arkansas
securetherepublic.com/arkansas
[email protected]

Disclaimer:

Legal Advice is Not Provided

The material in our emails/alerts and on our websites is only intended to provide general information and comment to the public. We make an effort to ensure that the information found in our emails/alerts and on our websites is accurate and timely, but we can’t and don’t guarantee that. Nor do we guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any information contained on websites to which our websites or emails provide links.

Information found in our emails/alerts and on our websites should not be taken as legal advice. Legal matters can be complicated. For assistance with a specific legal problem or question, please contact a knowledgeable lawyer for assistance.