We lodged our grave concern last week in this space about the uncomfortably close relationship between the city’s director of public works and Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ church.

According to the city auditor, Emmanuel O. Adediran, a volunteer associate pastor at First Baptist Church of South Richmond, was working as a project manager on the church expansion while he was on the city’s time clock and dime at the Department of Public Works.

No sooner had we raised the question of whether state or federal authorities would investigate this possibly unholy and potentially illegal arrangement than Mayor Jones announced that he requested the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation to review the case.

It was the right move — both for city taxpayers who deserve transparency and accountability, and for the mayor politically.

However, it now seems as though Mayor Jones has no authority under state law to bring in the State Police.

We hope that Mayor Jones’ call for an independent investigation is more than a political ploy to regain the trust of the public.

If the mayor is serious about having an independent — and hopefully impartial — agency scrutinize the city-church relationship, then he needs to make that happen, whether through a formal request through the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office or through Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Otherwise, a cloud will remain over his final months in office.

With at least six of the city’s top executives connected to Mayor Jones’ church, Richmond taxpayers are questioning how expansive the problem may be.

Too many unanswered questions remain about Mr. Adediran’s work on city time for the church and about three of the church project’s vendors that also have received city contracts.

The public trust is too important for Mayor Jones and his administration to leave these questions hanging. Already, we are seeing an erosion in private support for city projects, with Downtown corporations and firms pulling back on their promise to help fund improvements to Kanawha Plaza. What other fallout lurks as the city launches big-dollar plans to develop the Boulevard area?

A lack of transparency and accountability could harm the city’s future.