The wheels were turning at City Hall on Friday as Dallas officials began bracing for the departure of one police chief and the search for a new one.

Can’t we all agree right now that City Manager Mary Suhm is absolutely doing the right thing in launching a national search to replace David Kunkle, who turned one of the most hellish jobs in America into an attractive gig?

Kunkle inherited an absolute mess from former chief Terrell Bolton, who was hired quickly from within and slowly melted down like that wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz.

It was hard to watch — ugly to the bitter end.

Forced to dump Bolton, then-City Manager Ted Benavides got it right the next go-round. He hired a national search firm and ultimately settled on the perfect guy for the job — Kunkle, who’s about as unassuming as a fence post.

Frankly, I’m a little surprised that Kunkle is leaving so soon. He said that five years in his job is about as much as a guy can take.

But some tough it out a little longer.

Fort Worth just hired a new chief, Jeff Halstead, last fall. He replaced Ralph Mendoza, who stuck around eight years.

San Antonio hired a new guy, Bill McManus, in April 2006, and his predecessor, Al A. Phillipus, was in place seven years.

Austin appointed a new chief, Art Acevedo, in July 2007, and he took over from Stanley Knee, who stood in the pocket for nearly nine years.

Since Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and his colleagues made public safety a top priority in recent years, putting hundreds of new cops on the streets at a time they were slashing other departments, Kunkle ostensibly was in an envious position.

Still, he decided to heed that old saying: You better get while the gettin’ is good.

“I don’t feel like I’m leaving Dallas burned out or disillusioned,” Kunkle said. “I still have high energy levels and believe in what I do, and I like policing.”

And yet, for a guy who plans to stay in town, Kunkle unwittingly — or deliberately — sent a mixed message to the mayor and council.

The chief told the city manager’s office several weeks ago that he was contemplating leaving next year.

“He signaled a couple of months ago he was looking at it and it was a possibility,” Leppert acknowledged.

Still, most city officials were caught off guard by a resignation that, according to Kunkle, was a year in the making.

A week ago, Kunkle revealed during a telephone conversation to a boss that he’d finally made up his mind and planned to leave next February.

He later agreed to stay on until the end of April 2010, almost six years after assuming the post in June 2004, to allow more time for a national search and a transition.

Kunkle made one request: He wanted to craft his own news conference. In deference to the chief’s wishes, the city manager’s office sat on the news for several days and didn’t distribute a memo to council members until late Wednesday, the eve of Kunkle’s staged event.

The specific timing caught council members off guard — and partially explains why Leppert and Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway, chairman of the public safety committee, weren’t there.

Both men had busy schedules, to be sure. Caraway attended a funeral and the mayor had several obligations. But both would’ve been there if the chief had wanted them to be.

“I would’ve done it in two seconds,” Leppert said.

But Leppert, who meets monthly with the chief, said he wasn’t bothered by the way Kunkle orchestrated his departure.

“I didn’t want to be there to upstage him,” Leppert said, noting that having him and other politicians around could’ve taken a well-deserved spotlight off the chief. “Some people play that game. I just don’t want to do it.”

But trust me, if the mayor’s handlers had known that former mayor Laura Miller was invited, they would’ve made sure Leppert was in the picture, too.

So, did top city officials feel snubbed at being left out?

Well, Leppert and Caraway were quick to say they had no bones to pick with Kunkle for not personally inviting them to stand on stage with him.

“There’s absolutely no tension at City Hall with Chief Kunkle,” Caraway said. “We all have the highest respect for him.”

That says a lot about Kunkle. After all, the chief’s predecessor couldn’t say that; let’s hope his successor can.