[Ed. note: Below has been republished with permission from WHQR, a media partner to Port City Daily]
WILMINGTON — Last summer, Wilmington paid a third-party firm $75,000 to investigate the leadership of the police department. Not long after the investigation wrapped, the city manager’s office approved two consulting contracts to address WPD issues, including those identified in the investigation.
Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams announced his plans to retire in January, following an external investigation into his administration and vocal criticism from former officers. Documents provided by the city now show his announcement came amid ongoing efforts to address a host of issues in the department.
Williams pushed back on his critics as racist or racially motivated, garnering support from the Black community; his critics rejected the idea that their complaints had anything to do with race. Williams also said his retirement was long planned, claiming he had ”committed to a five-year tenure and not staying past 2025” when city council hired him as chief. No one on council has responded to requests to confirm that; it does appear Williams is risking significant retirement benefits by staying on the job.
What’s clear is that even as Williams plans his exit, the city is trying to improve a situation at the police department that current and former officers have referred to as dysfunctional; some have spoken on the record, and some on background, discussing the workplace environment anonymously for fear of retaliation.
Last fall, the city began contracting with two consulting firms: Wilmington-based The Forté Institute and Cary-based AHK Global.
Forté, which consults on management issues with a focus on communication, has performed a variety of services for the city in the past, including for the police department. In October, the city began conversations about contracting to work with the command staff at WPD.
They moved forward with a $29,550 contract in November, based on a 2019 consulting project with the police department, apparently disbanded prior to the retirement of former Chief Ralph Evangelous. Forté has also reviewed newer concerns, including reporting from WHQR and WECT, and the results of a $75,000 third-party investigation into WPD leadership (a report that has been kept under wraps, even from city council).
AHK Global, run by the city’s former HR director, Al Ragland, was also hired to work with WPD command staff. AHK Global bills itself as “one of the premier consulting and executive search firms” in the state (although unlike Forté it appears to have almost no web presence).
The $16,800 contract for “directed consulting,” originating in October and approved in November, provides for $1,400 per month for 16 hours (and $100 per hour after that), for up to 12 months. Beyond that, the contract offers no specifics on scope. However, the city confirmed Ragland is also working with WPD command staff. City email records also indicate Ragland sat in on several key meetings held by Forté.
Because both contracts involved professional services, they originated from the city manager’s office, and did not require or involve city council approval.
Background
In early 2024, Captain Mike Fanta filed a formal HR complaint against Chief Williams as he prepared to retire after nearly three decades. In an interview with WHQR, Fanta laid out his specific grievances against Williams and more systemic problems he identified in the city’s police and human resources departments.
Fanta’s complaint pushed Caudle to hire U.S. ISS Agency, LLC as an outside firm. In May, ISS was contracted for $75,000 to “initiate a personnel misconduct investigation into alleged violations of City and Police Department policies,” including harassment, intimidation, bullying, and possible policy violations in the management of the department.
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ISS was also tasked with identifying “opportunities for improved leadership and management practices of the City Police Department,” as well as providing “executive coaching and mentoring services to aid in the improvement of the leadership and management” in the department.
By late July, ISS had delivered its report to Caudle’s office. Caudle declined to release it to the public, citing personnel laws. Caudle also denied requests from city council members who wanted to see the report; although council hires police chiefs, they are then moved under the city manager’s office, and their personnel files and related documents — like the ISS report — are protected.
There is a statutory exception, which allows information to be released when it is “essential to maintaining public confidence,” but it requires the agreement of council and the manager’s office — and that hasn’t happened. Council reportedly discussed the issue in a specially called closed session in October (a week after WHQR’s reporting on the ISS investigation), but council members took no public action on releasing the report. Caudle, for his part, announced in November he would retire this coming May.
Mayor Bill Saffo did appear to have been briefed, at least at a high level, on the substance of the ISS report. He declined to discuss specifics but acknowledged the chief had issues to deal with, and that Caudle was taking appropriate measures to address concerns.
Details of the consulting work
On Oct. 10, about a week after WHQR reported on the city’s contract with ISS, Forté founder and chairman Hoop Morgan contacted Clayton Roberts, the city’s HR director.
“Clayton, we just may resurrect this,” Morgan wrote. “As a starting place – thoughts?”
Morgan attached an April 2019 PowerPoint presentation, outlining consulting work for the Wilmington Police Department, then under Chief Ralph Evangelous. Email records from the city show Forté used that presentation, with some modifications, to launch its work with Williams’ administration.
According to the $29,550 contract with Forté, the work included a cohort of 18 employees, including Chief Williams, top command staff, members of the WPD communications team, and Kim Carson, the city’s DEI director.
These officers were slated to fill out benchmarking and update surveys every 30 days, with debriefings afterward, over the course of six months. The goal, according to Forté, is to “bring the Command Staff together as an example and expectation for the entire agency.”
Forté’s 2024 update outlined a number of issues. Internal problems included communication, the need for more “open door”’” policies and constructive feedback, better mentoring and accountability systems, and better explanations of the “why” when the chief makes decisions.
Both the 2019 and 2024 presentations make special note of the importance of body language.
Other issues involved both the department and the city’s HR, including a city pay policy that “doesn’t value experience,” an inefficient evaluation process, and “questionable hiring practices,” particularly the “psychological element.”
There’s also evidence of staffing frustrations that have plagued many law enforcement agencies, including calls for better retention of good employees and more aggressive lobbying for departmental needs in the pre-budgeting and budgeting processes.
The presentation also noted that the department also gives citizens “the runaround” and doesn’t respond reliably; it also suggests using software to track responses to the public.
According to invoices and emails from Forté, the consultants also reviewed media reports. One invoice item showed WECT reporting on the Fraternal Order of Police’s meeting with Saffo and Councilman Luke Waddell was reviewed in November by “Hoop/Al” — presumably referencing Hoop Morgan and Al Ragland. In December, Jessica Wolfe, chief client success officer Forté, reviewed WHQR’s hour-long interview with Fanta, according to email records.
In late November, Morgan spent three-and-a-half hours reviewing the ISS report. Although that document was previously deemed confidential, the city said appropriate permission was given to provide the report to Morgan.
Two days later, on Nov. 26, Morgan, Wolfe, and Ragland met with Williams for two hours. In December, Forté interviewed many other members of command staff.
According to email records from the city, Forté was still invoicing the city; it also appeared Morgan was doing some work with the Wilmington Fire Department, including a “mini-retreat” that was being planned for earlier this month.
City and WPD responses
The city said it wasn’t concerned about the viability or necessity of the consulting contracts because they were for the entire command staff, not just Williams.
In a statement, WPD responded to a request for comment.
“WPD has worked with Forté for many years including prior administrations. The training we receive helps individuals understand their leadership style as it relates to how they communicate and how they are perceived. Communication is one of the pillars of police work and any chance to improve upon those basic skills is beneficial both internally to the operation of the police department and to serving the public,” according to a WPD spokesperson.
WHQR also requested comment from the city, specifically about whether there were ongoing concerns about WPD command staff and the city’s HR processes based on some of the comments in the Forté presentation — and about whether the city was planning any organizational or policy changes. The city responded with a general statement.
“WPD and the City of Wilmington contract with outside firms like these to help us identify areas in which we can improve and give us the tools and resources to perform and serve more effectively,” a city spokesperson wrote in response.
To see the contracts posted from WHQR, click here.
Ben Schachtman is the news director for WHQR, whose focus is on local government accountability. He began reporting for Port City Daily in the Wilmington area in 2016 and took over as managing editor there in 2018. He’s a graduate of Rutgers College and later received his MA from NYU and his PhD from SUNY-Stony Brook, both in English Literature. He loves spending time with his wife and playing rock’n’roll very loudly. You can reach him at BSchachtman@whqr.org and find him on Twitter @Ben_Schachtman.
