In May 2016, the Fort Smith Board of Directors appointed Carl Geffken as the Fort Smith City Administrator. As City Administrator, Mr. Geffken acts as the municipality’s Chief Executive Officer overseeing the municipal organization with almost 1,000 employees and an annual budget of close to $300 million.

As the City of Fort Smith’s Administrator, Mr. Geffken has achieved critical milestones, including streamlining The City’s budget, increasing infrastructure improvements, and improving the staff’s productivity and efficiency.

In 2019, Mr. Geffken led the city government, and the Fort Smith community, through several life-altering events, including the 2019 Flood, the 2019 EF1 Tornado, and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). He made significant social advancements within the organization by appointing the first African-American to head the Police Department, where he introduced community-oriented policing. He has also hired the municipality’s first females to lead the City’s Planning, Community Development, and Solid Waste Services departments.

Geffken’s career in government administration spans over 32 years. His specialty knowledge includes finance administration. Before joining the City of Fort Smith, Carl served as Managing Director of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he led the City through the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act 47, saving the City from insolvency. In addition, he negotiated a $250 million savings for the City through negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during their Federal Wastewater Consent Decree. Before that, Carl served as the Chief Operating Officer for Berks County, Pennsylvania, where he oversaw the county’s operations, inclusive of 21 departments and a budget of $450 million.

An active member of the Arkansas Municipal League (AML), Carl served several years on the organization’s “Large City of the First Class Advisory Committee.” His membership with the National League of Cities enables him to participate in two committees within that organization. Carl enjoys volunteering and is a member of the United Way of Fort Smith, where he serves on the organization’s Investment Committee.

A native New Yorker, he began his finance career in the mergers and acquisitions field before working in various positions for the City of New York, including multiple director positions, wherein he managed budgets of over $1 billion. While serving as the Assistant Commissioner for the New York City Department of Investigation, Carl championed the safety and well-being of children in NYC daycare centers by successfully implementing “Live Scan,” a fingerprinting software used to increase the health and safety protections for children in government-sponsored care.

Carl holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Binghamton University – State University of New York and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Investments from the Zicklin School of Business – Bernard M. Baruch College – City University of New York.