Former Augusta Parks and Recreation Department Deputy Director Tim Fulton tendered his resignation on Wednesday, Sept. 19, and the next morning he was escorted out of the building by Marshal’s Office personnel.
Fulton says that after surviving and witnessing 18 months of purges by Maurice McDowell, the department’s director, he finally had enough of what he calls the “most toxic work environment” in Augusta government.
“(McDowell’s) final act of humiliating me was to have me marched out of the office as if I had been terminated,” Fulton said.
However, unlike the scores of other Parks and Recreation employees purged by McDowell, Fulton has hired an attorney and says it is time for the community to know what occurred during his tenure of working under McDowell.
Fulton’s resignation letter to McDowell pulls no punches.The letter identifies by name seven individuals in senior positions who were forced to quit, retire early or were outright fired by McDowell. All of them, according to Fulton, were highly qualified and all of them were White.
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According to a log kept by Fulton, McDowell told Fulton that one particular employee was highly skilled and competent, but “she didn’t fit the culture” of the department. Fulton also records that “(McDowell) also stated to me that there are people trying to portray the department in a certain way. He said he would not tolerate it. He said that he had to push out the ‘old regime.’”
Many of those former employees corroborate Fulton’s claims, but, so far, refuse to go on record for fear of retaliation.
“Maurice, or I should say Director McDowell, is always talking about making the department more ‘diverse,’ but he has done the opposite. Once he had gotten rid of most of the other White people in leadership roles, he turned his attention to me, and I knew it was just a matter of time,” Fulton said.
According to Fulton, McDowell barred him from leadership meetings and invited Fulton’s subordinate, Alphonza Williams, to attend in his place. Fulton, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Buffalo says Williams has never managed a parks and recreation organization.
In May, Fulton filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunitiy Compliance Office with a list of documented grievances including the claim that he was being forced to allow his unqualified subordinate basically do his job for him as well as documented exit interviews in which employees reported they were being forced to quit or retire because they were “old and White.”
EEO Compliance Director Yolanda Jackson and interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse responded by accusing Fulton of “falsifying government documents” and suspended him for five days.
“I dared to bring up race and give them proof of what I was witnessing, and they turned it all around on me. Suddenly, I’m the racist and then they accused me of committing what I believe is a crime – falsifying government documents,” Fulton said.
Roy Simkins, chairman of the Augusta Tree Commission says that Fulton is a man of “common sense and integrity” and said that he is surprised that Fulton stayed as long as he did.
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“It seems that the people in that department who have any sense of responsibility and are trying to do constructive things for the city have been forced out and replaced by people who have absolutely no clue what they are doing,” Simkins said.
District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight, who has been a vocal proponent of installing new leadership in the Parks and Recreation Department, says that the other people who feel they were discriminated against and forced out of their jobs need to come forward and tell their stories.
“We all want a level playing field, but what I am hearing is that is not the case with Parks and Rec, but I also have to see the facts, these other folks need to speak up,” McKnight said.
Meanwhile, Fulton says his potential lawsuit has nothing to do with trying to win a large monetary settlement with the city, he just wants his employment record to be amended to reflect the truth that he did not falsify government documents and for the city to own up to its mistakes. If a jury decides to award punitive damages, Fulton says “that would be up to them, but it would send a message, discrimination in any form is intolerable.”
“I love Augusta; I am invested here; my family calls Augusta home. None of us want to leave, but we have to leave now. I was the one trying to get maintenance going at the cemeteries and parks; I stopped the staff from trying to override procurement procedures, and I was forced out by Maurice McDowell, and I feel it is important for the community to know what has gone on in that department,” Fulton said. “I really hope the other folks who were victims of discrimination will come forward and tell their stories.”
A message left for McDowell was not returned.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
