Southlake police officers have raised questions with the Tarrant County district attorney about the leadership of Southlake Police Chief Wade Goolsby, according to sources within the city.

“The police chief has been subject to political influence in the past,” one source told us. “That’s among the concerns taken to the D.A.”

On Wednesday, Kurt Stallings, chief of the pre-trial division of the district attorney’s office, confirmed to The Journal that an investigation of the matters referred by Southlake police sources to the D.A. was under way.

“On Friday I am going to meet with investigators from our office,” Stallings said, “and I am personally going to take control of the investigation from that point forward.”

Some employees have told The Journal that they are also presenting information concerning intimidation and pressure within the department, specifically by the chief.

Sources in the city express concerns that Goolsby and several other Southlake officials have long-standing relationships that could inhibit usual governmental checks and balances.

Goolsby and former Southlake Department of Public Safety Director Richard A. Smith have known each other since both men worked for the Arlington Police Department beginning in 1989. They also teamed in 2004 on a consulting project for an Arlington-based firm, Del Carmen Consultants, LLC.

Smith confirms that he has known Goolsby “since the 1990s.”

Chuck Kiefer, who retired as Arlington city manager in January 2005, came to work as interim assistant city manager in Southlake shortly after his retirement. At the time, Shana Yelverton had just been promoted to city manager. Yelverton’s husband, Trey, worked for Kiefer in Arlington as deputy city manager for economic development, a position he still holds.

2005: A Time of Change

The beginning of 2005 was a time of political turmoil in Southlake. A scandal had been uncovered in the Public Works Department in early November 2004, and several high-placed officials, including a former city manager had been suspended, though not charged with a crime. Morale suffered, as documented by a city-commissioned report presented in 2005.

Yelverton said that the resignations and retirements left her in a position in which she needed to hire people quickly.

“When I began work as interim city manager, after the scandal broke, I knew I was going to need some help. So, I looked for people I knew had integrity and experience.” She had three meetings with Kiefer, and asked him if he would come to work on an interim basis. He agreed.

“He helped us evaluate our system. He was instrumental in helping us move our organization to the next level, which we did, at the same time as we kept the operations running smoothly.”

It was at that time, Yelverton said, that she introduced many reforms and “best practices” to Southlake city departments.

“I wanted to build a top-tier organization. I hired people who could come in here and help provide the very best service to our residents and businesses.”

In February 2005, the city contracted with the Mercer Group as the recruiter to begin the search for a new police chief and a permanent assistant city manager. The consultant was Mercer’s senior vice president, Jim Blagg, who lives in Arlington and whose wife is a city official there.

Blagg, who left previous public sector jobs in Abilene and Dallas in controversy (see related link: "Blagg No Stranger to Controversy," above), conducted a search that closed in May 2005. According to Yelverton, Goolsby, then with the Coppell PD, was one of 10 finalists. She said that she and Kiefer selected Goolsby. Earlier, Goolsby had applied unsuccessfully for the chief’s job in Colleyville and in North Richland Hills.

The assistant city manager’s position, which was advertised to close in April 2005, was filled, curiously, by Blagg himself.

Yelverton and Blagg both conceded that Blagg taking the job was unusual. Yelverton confirmed that Blagg was paid his consulting fee for both positions. The fee was based on his “fulfilling the scope of his work,” she said.

When asked how she hired Blagg, Yelverton said “he left his card the year before,” and when the need arose, “I called him back.” She said that “someone in the profession told her he did a good job,” but that she could not remember who.

“We interviewed 14 or 15 candidates,” Yelverton said. “I was looking for someone with experience and someone who could come in and make an immediate impact.”

Yelverton said that most people interviewed did not have strategic management experience, or had not worked directly with department heads. She offered the job to one candidate, she said, but he turned it down.

Yelverton said that when the candidates didn’t work out, she and Blagg met to talk about the next steps. At that time, he told her he liked what he saw in the city and “would love to be part of this organization.” Yelverton and Blagg both recalled that her initial response was to tell him she “would think about it.”

On the day that Blagg began work as Southlake assistant city manager, Oct. 18, 2005, Smith became permanent director of DPS, where he worked until the end of 2006. He resigned to become a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research and Training, where Goolsby serves on the board of directors. After Smith left Southlake, Blagg also assumed the duties as DPS director.

Sources inside and outside the DPS describe the Police Department as continuing to have morale problems. They say leadership is unresponsive.

Yelverton said she has an open-door policy and wants to hear about any problems within the department. She says she has set up numerous ways in which employees can submit complaints or grievances.

“Those can even be submitted anonymously,” she said.

Southlake Mayor Andy Wambsganss said he has great confidence in Yelverton.

“When it comes to anyone I’ve worked with in government — from Washington, D.C., to Austin — I’ve never found anyone with more integrity. I’ve also been very impressed over the past few years with her drive to increase performance and efficiency throughout our city government.”

Wambsganss said he hopes “that anyone with a concern about city government, whether city employee or citizen, will contact the city manager, or, if they prefer, they can contact me.”

Sources who talked to The Journal say the Police Department is affected by political favoritism and pressure not only from the community but from inside the department. Not everyone is optimistic about the near-term prospects under Goolsby’s leadership.

“Instead of getting lip-service that doesn’t match action,” one source summarized, “maybe exposing the tactics of intimidation, favoritism and distrust over the past couple of years can bring about real change or new leadership and return the department to its days of pride and professionalism.”

Researcher Marcia Melton of the Star-Telegram contributed to this story.

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