Missouri City’s municipal government has hired a law firm to investigate allegations surrounding new City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson, who was placed on administrative leave about three months into his tenure..

The city council met last week in an unrecorded special council meeting to authorize hiring Austin-based DeDe Church & Associates to handle the investigation, according to Tara Crain, spokesperson for the city.

Crain did not respond to a follow-up phone call seeking more information about the cost of the investigation or more details about the allegations surrounding Jackson.

Attendees at last week’s early morning meeting told the Fort Bend Star that the council held no discussion outside of executive session other than the vote on the law firm.

Members of council have declined to comment on the matter, saying they don’t comment on personnel matters.

The firm describes itself as a team of experts that can provide training and videos, investigations of complaints, executive coaching, climate surveys, affirmative action plans and Title IX guidance, among other services, according to its website.

Jackson has been on paid administrative leave with the city ever since the council emerged early April 5, after spending more than three hours in closed executive session, and opted to place Jackson on leave, pending an investigation into allegations surrounding him.

The motion to place Jackson on leave came shortly after Councilperson Vashaundra Edwards made a motion to dismiss Jackson. Edwards asserted her motion was based on evidence released during the closed session that Jackson had allegedly violated the city’s charter requirements about ethical tenets and hiring and firing individuals in his office.

Aside from those brief comments that prefaced a 6-1 vote in favor of placing Jackson on leave, no one associated with the city has provided more information about what led to the sudden reversal regarding Jackson’s tenure.

Jackson has not responded to requests for comment as of Monday afternoon.

The city has not responded to the Star’s open records request for a letter detailing allegations against Jackson that was filed 12 days ago. By law, the city has up to 10 days to respond to that request by either providing the document or filing an appeal with the Texas Attorney General’s Office. That deadline is set for Wednesday.

Jackson earns a yearly salary of about $210,000, in addition to a $600 per month vehicle allowance and a $90 per month phone allowance, according to public documents.

The city council authorized spending $23,000 on a search firm before it hired Jackson, whose two predecessors, Anthony Snipes and Odis Jones, were given severance payments totaling almost $1 million. Snipes was fired in a 4-3 vote by the council in February 2020, and Jones’ subsequent tenure ended with a 5-2 vote to fire him in April 2021.