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| Mayor Jaylen Smith at the DNC 2024 in Chicago, IL |
Arkansas's youngest and most inexperienced mayor is in some hot water over how he manages and spends public funds.
Twenty-one year old Earle, AR mayor Jaylen Smith, is under investigation by the Arkansas Attorney General's Public Integrity Division and the 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney based on findings in a Financial and Compliance Report by the Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
The report shows Mayor Smith has yet to reimburse the city for $2,886 for hotel and fuel charges for an out-of-state trip, and has not provided adequate supporting documentation to verify charges made to a city credit card. The documents that he has provided were fraudulent.
The report also cites discrepancies totaling $23,671 in the District Court account:
⬧ $11,935 in receipts issued between Jan. 1, 2023 and Aug. 13, 2024 that were subsequently voided, leaving a balance on defendants’ accounts.
⬧ $6,298 in receipts issued during the same time that were voided, and the cases adjusted by crediting the defendants’ accounts. Adequate supporting documentation was not provided for these adjustments
⬧ $5,438 in receipts issued between Jan. 1, 2024 and July 24, 2024 that could not be traced to a bank account.
This is the Legislative Audit report that details serious financial problems in Earle city government:
In August 2025, unpaid bills was a heated topic at a city council meeting.
Smith told reporters, "I can tell you as far as, we're probably 20 thousand something dollars behind on bills to be paid".
Smith claimed the city council had been tabling bills for two months.
The audio recording of the meeting clearly reflected that the Earle City Council voted to pay the bills with a 4-1 vote. Mayor Smith falsely stated that it didn't pass.
This is not the first lie Mayor Smith has made while in office.
Back in August of 2024, Mayor Smith drove to Chicago, IL to go to the Democratic National Convention. Smith used a city credit card to pay for hotel and fuel.
Mayor Smith told the City Council that he had attended an African American Mayors Association ("AAMA") Leadership Summit in Chicago, IL from August 18th through the 22nd.
That was a lie.
The AAMA held their annual conference on April 16 through 18, 2024 in Washington, D.C. and Smith was in attendance.
The AAMA had no conference scheduled or any scheduled AAMA meetings in Chicago in August 2024.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had several social events that were lined up for Black mayor's attending the Democratic National Convention. The AAMA assisted Mayor Johnson in getting word out about the events he had planned.
Smith posted several photos of him at the DNC on his Facebook page.
During the time Mayor Smith was in Chicago, The Evening Times, a Marion, AR based newspaper posted an article about Mayor Smith attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL.
Smith made posts on his Facebook page about being at the DNC.
Smith was not a member of the Arkansas delegation.
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In fact, Smith is not registered as a Democratic Party affiliated voter.
The following information was obtained via a AFOIA request we made to ALA:
⬪ At the August 27, 2024 City Council meeting after returning from the DNC trip, Mayor Smith submitted expense records to the Earle City Council, and he told them that he needed their approval to pay for travel and lodging for an African American Mayors Association Leadership Summit trip he had already taken August 18 through 24. He provided receipts for the hotel and fuel. They voted 5-3 to approve payment.
Arkansas Legislative Audit ("ALA") was conducting a 2023 Financial and Compliance Report ("FCR")* of the City of Earle during this same period of time.
*An Arkansas Legislative Audit Financial and Compliance Report is a review of a county or city government's financial records and adherence to state laws and proper business practices. These reports, produced by ALA, identify issues like misclassified revenues, missing funds, and noncompliance with accounting practices. The goal is to ensure accountability for taxpayer money and provide findings to government officials and the public.
During the 2023 FCR conducted by ALA, the matter of the Mayor's August 2024 trip to Chicago was brought to the auditor's attention.
⬪ On September 11, 2024, at the ALA FCR exit conference, the auditor informed Mayor Smith that ALA needed more information concerning the AAMA conference. The auditor sighted receipts associated with that trip. The Mayor had printed an agenda from a Microsoft Word document as his only support for his attendance at the AAMA conference. Smith indicated he would provide that information when ALA conducted the 2024 FCR in January 2025.
⬪ During the October 22, 2024 City Council meeting, Mayor Smith questioned Treasurer Cynthia Conner as to her paying for his Chicago trip. City Council voted 6-1 to not pay the expenses related to the trip as adequate supporting documentation had not been provided to the City Treasurer by Mayor Smith.
⬪ In November 2024, outgoing Crittenden County District Judge Fred Thorne sent a letter to the the Crittenden County Sheriff and a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, the Earle City Attorney and the incoming Crittenden County District Judge Mike Allen.
The letter detailed about theft of funds by a former Earle City Clerk/ Treasurer Chiquita Moore.
The Public Integrity Unit at the Arkansas Attorney General's Office was also notified.
⬪ In December 2024, the 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney asked Legislative audit to conduct an audit/investigation into the operating funds, especially expenses, of the city of Earle. The email chain regarding that request, also referenced the Public Integrity Unit of the Arkansas Attorney General was also conducting an investigation.
⬪ On January 6, 2025, ALA began the 2024 FCR of the City of Earle. The auditor spoke with Mayor Smith, and asked had he obtained any more information for his attendance of the AAMA conference. Mayor Smith provided a letter from the AAMA but there was no mention of the August 2024 conference in that letter.
⬪ On February 4, 2025, the Earle City Treasurer Cynthis Conner, sent ALA an email that included a copy of the AAMA October 31, 2024 letter and a letter Mayor Smith sent the City Council along with a copy of the VISA bill for the Chicago trip.
⬪ On February 26, 2025. Mayor Smith sent ALA a possible forwarded email from Karlos Nichols, with AAMA. It was a list of social events Smith had been invited to by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson attend while at the DNC. ALA told Smith that the email was unacceptable documentation to support his expenses. Smith told ALA that he was still waiting on documentation but wanted to provide the email to prove his attendance at the AAMA conference.
⬪ On March 25, 2025, ALA emailed Mayor Smith informing him that fieldwork on the 2024 FCR had been completed, but supporting documentation for his Chicago trip was still needed.
⬪ On April 4, 2025, Mayor Smith responded to the March 25th ALA email and asked what information they had received from the City Clerk/Treasurers Office about his Chicago trip. ALA told him all they had was two letters she sent. Smith replied "okay".
⬪ On April 8, 2025, Mayor Smith sent ALA an email that contained the receipts he had submitted to the City Council for payment, the October 31, 2024 letter from AAMA that contained no information about a conference or seminar, a typed agenda from Microsoft Word with several typographical errors, and copies of Council meeting minutes. ALA noted that in the agenda Smith sent with the April 8th email, when compared with times and dates from the February 26, 2025 email, there were several inconsistencies in the times of the meetings.
⬪ On April 9, 2025, ALA left voicemail messages for Phyllis Dickerson and Karlos Nichols with AAMA. They also responded to Mayor Smith's April 8th email informing him that he still had not provided appropriate supporting documents, and suggested that he contact AAMA to get copies of any documentation that was used for the conference. Mayor Smith responded "will do".
⬪ On April 9. 2025, ALA received a phone call from Phyllis Dickerson , AAMO CEO. When questions about the AAMA Leadership Conference Mayor Scott stated he attended, she indicated that AAMA did not sponsor any meetings in Chicago during August 18-24, 2024. She stated that there were several events planned and hosted by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. She emailed ALA three emails showing events that could be attended. One emails had the events hosted by Mayor Johnson, another had an event was hosted by a local Starbucks, and another email had a luncheon that was hosted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
ALA then made these findings:
⬪ The AAMA did not hold a Leadership Conference during August 18-22, 2024 as stated by Mayor Smith in order for the City of Earle to pay for his gas and lodging.
⬪ Mayor Jaylen Smith charged $2,886.46 to the City of Earle's credit card for expenses not approved by the Earle City Council.
⬪ Mayor Jaylen Smith did not submit appropriate supporting documentation for those expenses.
⬪ Mayor Jaylen Smith requested approval for those expenses by misleading the Earle City Council claiming it was for an AAMA Leadership Conference when no such conference was held.
⬪ Without proper documentation reflecting a business purposes those charges appear to conflict with Ark. Const. art. 12 § 5, and the public purpose doctrine*.
*The Arkansas public purpose doctrine is a legal principle that requires public funds and property to be used for public benefit, rather than for private gain. This doctrine is rooted in the state constitution and requires that any expenditure of public money or property must have a "public purpose" where the benefit to private individuals or entities is merely incidental. This principle is applied through various means, including Attorney General opinions and court decisions, and is used to prevent the misuse of taxpayer money.
The ALA referred the matter of Mayor Smith's use of a City of Earle Credit Card and and former City Clerk/Treasurer theft of funds to the 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney and the Arkansas Attorney General.
So let's make this clear, Earle Mayor Jaylen Smith made a personal trip to the Democratic National Convention and used a City of Earl credit card to pay for his gas and lodging. He posted photos of that on his Facebook page and a local newspaper reported on his going to the DNC. When Smith asked the City Council to pay for the trip, after he had already taken it, he lied and told them he went to Chicago for an AAMA conference. The City Clerk/Treasurer caught him in his lie and the City Council voted to not pay the credit card charges he illegally made.
Then Smith told the ALA and the City Council he would use funds from a grant The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation made to the city to pay for his personal trip to the DNC.
Smith's use the grant funds to reimburse the City of Earl is not an approved use of the funds (going to the DNC and a bunch of Skin-N'-Grin events are not professional development opportunities) and is and illegal act under Arkansas laws.
And the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation told us that they have not yet provided that grant to the City of Earle (and probably won't) and using it to pay for that trip is not allowed.
The District Court and the City Clerk/Treasurer and Mayor agreed to implement changes to prevent future issues on non-compliance.
At the October 21st, Earl City Council meeting, Mayor Smith presented and read a letter purported to be from David Smith (no relation) owner of Smith Installation, Inc.
The required recording of the City Council meeting reveals the City Council, City Treasurer and Mayor, discussing ways to circumvent legal and ethical regulations and accept the illegal payment for the mayor's personal trip to a political event to socialize with Democratic leaders. The City Treasurer stated that ALA told her that the check needed to be deposited directly in the bank. ALA stated that is not factual and referred us to a letter an ALA attorney sent the city about them providing legal advice that was included in their AFOIA response to us.
On October 27, 2025 a check from Smith Installation , Inc. was deposited into a City of Earle bank account at the Earle Branch of the First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas.
Comparing the hand writing and signature of Erin Smith Chandler on that check and the alleged signature of her father on the letter, its is obvious that she signed her father's name on that letter.
Should Mayor Smith be charged and convicted of violation of Arkansas laws for his illegal use of the city credit card and providing false information to the City Council and ALA to use public funds to pay for his personal trip the the DNC, he could be barred from holding any public office in Arkansas.
Smith Installations, Inc.'s influence peddling could result in criminal charges as well.
The City of Earle has some financial problems as evidenced by news reports for Memphis news outlets.
Our review of the ALA files provided to us show some questionable spending:
⬪ $1, 032.69 was spent on an antenna, police lights, and a siren for the mayor's vehicle.
Reasonable folks would ask why does a mayor need that for his ride?
It turns out that Mayor Smith is also an auxiliary cop for the Earle Police Department.
Auxiliary Earle Cop & Mayor Smith posts childlike, silly videos on his social media of him playing policeman.
And AI photos of himself as a "FBI Agent".
On June 21, 2025m Smith stated on a Facebook post he was considering running for Sheriff of Crittenden County or for the State Representative position for District 35.
On September 20, 2025, Smith posted this on Facebook about his running for the State Representative position.
Then on October 19, 2025, Smith posted he was seeking re-election as mayor.
Perhaps Smith has been taking corruption and grifting lessons from Barry Jefferson.
Jefferson, a former Pulaski County Justice of the Peace office holder that illegally held that position (due to a criminal conviction) was disqualified from running for office and barred from holding any public office in Arkansas in 2022 under an Arkansas “infamous crimes” law disqualifies him from running for office.
Instead of Smith manning up and admitting he lied and provided false documents to the City Council and ALA to try and use public funds to pay for his personal trip to a partisan political event and claim that attending social events was "leadership development" is evidence of his lack of maturity and honesty.
Public officials that misuse their position for personal gain and benefit, like Jaylen Smith, need to be removed. They are grifters and thieves.
Stay tuned for updates.