Mayor Peter Christie said he has no plans to appoint anyone to the vacant City Attorney position.
Anyone is welcome to run, but the duties of staff attorney Jason Kelley will not change, Christie added.
Bella Vista has a similar set up to Bentonville and Rogers, Kelley said, where the staff attorney is the city's primary counsel. The City Attorney position is largely ceremonial, the pay is low and the duties are minimal.
"The staff attorney has the obligation of representing the city and be its full-time lawyer," Kelley said. "This is by (City Council) ordinance and I answer to the mayor."
Kelley attends city meetings, doles out legal advice, drafts ordinances and prosecutes misdemeanor crimes committed within city limits. Kelley said that he decided not to run for the City Attorney position because of the potential for a conflict of interest.
"There's no requirement to hold a special election to fill the (City Attorney) position," Kelley added.
Kelley provided legal services part-time for Bella Vista soon after the city incorporated in 2006. He was contracted in May 2007 to review ordinances and resolutions already enacted by the City Council. He also provided on-site counsel to the mayor and other city officials two days a week.
Originally, Paul Bridges and Ray Bunch ran for City Attorney when Bella Vista had its first rounds of elections in November 2006. However, following a confusing outcome, neither candidate chose to take office and the position remained vacant.
In August 2008, Kelley was appointed City Attorney via a special meeting of the City Council. The decision was unanimous and established an office in City Hall for Kelley to work from. Alongside developing the city, Kelley served as the prosecuting attorney and handled misdemeanors and citations on behalf of the city.
However, Kelley resigned in November 2008 to accept a full-time position as Fayetteville's assistant city attorney. Between 2008 and 2013, the city contracted with Williams and Hutchinson, LLP for its legal services. The Rogers-based firm split the duties of City Attorney between three attorneys: Timothy Hutchinson, Bryan Vernetti and Ronald Williams. The Arkansas Municipal League handled cases in which the city was the defendant.
Kelley returned to Bella Vista in December 2013, when the city's rapid growth spurred the need for a full-time attorney.
An Arkansas native, Kelley was born in White Hall, which is just a few miles outside Pine Bluff, near the center of the state. He received his undergraduate degree from Arkansas State University and his law degree from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. He currently resides in Bella Vista.
Kelley moved to Northwest Arkansas in the late 1990s.
He worked for a private law firm in Bentonville before becoming Rogers' deputy city attorney, a position he held until 2005.
After leaving Rogers, Kelley had a private practice, which primarily focused on civil cases in real estate and the drawing of wills.
General News on 02/25/2015