The sudden Feb.14 resignation of Augusta Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell did not come as a shock to many, and city records give more of a glimpse into the real reasons for his departure.
Documents show that McDowell was accused of several forms of discrimination and carrying on multiple affairs with subordinates.
Those under investigation denied the affairs, but the department’s checkbook shows taxpayers’ dollars have been spent on hotel rooms with no corresponding travel attached.
It took nearly a month to obtain the records through an open records request due to bottlenecks in the city attorney’s office, and the first records received were heavily redacted. Many of the charges against the former director, in an internal investigation that started last September, were buried deep in the documentation.
McDowell’s employment records are filled with complaints from Parks and Recreation employees claiming the department head acted as a racist and narcissistic tyrant who attempted to turn employees against one another and generally created a “toxic” work environment.
MORE: Tutt Middle School express concerns about county’s Comprehensive Facilities Plan
“I know some of my co-workers have talked to HR and EEO. They feel nothing is being done and want to consult a lawyer,” Recreation District Manager James Riles wrote in an open letter.
Hidden deep in the records are allegations that McDowell maintained multiple romantic or sexual relationships with employees.
The two women named in the report denied a non-professional relationship with McDowell; however, testimony in the documents indicated more than two county employees were linked to him romantically and that he even bragged about it.
An email from an unknown employee to Recreation Manager Marilyn Newton stated that one of the employees, who was hired as a part-time assistant to McDowell, has a side job as an out-of-town exotic dancer and that the pair openly flirted and spent time together behind McDowell’s closed office door.
Other documents accuse McDowell of giving one of the female employees a cellphone, tablet and the keys to the building so that she could come and go as she pleased; city policy forbids giving such equipment and access to part-time employees.
As a result, the documents claim, McDowell simply tried to circumvent the Human Resources Department and promote the employee to a full-time position.
Brittany Reddick, senior human resource analyst, confirmed that McDowell tried to strong arm the department into the promotion and stated he has, “consistently demonstrated unethical behavior.”
Other employees stated that McDowell would stay at work with the two employees long after everyone else had left and that McDowell often went out of town on overnight “work-related” trips with women.
While it is impossible to tell if McDowell was the only person renting hotel rooms, the Parks and Recreation banking records show that $26,210 was spent on hotel rooms over the past two years, and there are no corresponding plane tickets proving travel to a convention.
Ultimately, the HR investigation could not substantiate the sexual claims, but they did find McDowell guilty of age discrimination and recommended a five-day suspension along with sensitivity training.
The final finding of the city attorney’s office first released was entirely redacted, and the official story became that McDowell did not want to accept a reprimand and resigned on the spot.
However, others close to the matter tell a different story and say that word of the investigation reached Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, and, after reading the salacious details contained in the interim administrators report, a report that was not included in the response to the open records request, decided to take the only action that he could.
Johnson confirmed that he and Interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse scheduled a meeting that included Mayor pro Tem Brandon Garrett, City Attorney Wayne Brown, Human Resources Director Anita Rookard, as well as others, where McDowell was presented with evidence against him from multiple investigations, including an outside investigation by potential litigants.
Rather than have his indiscretions made public before the commission, McDowell agreed under duress to sign a resignation letter provided to him by the city attorney.
Johnson said that he chafed at giving McDowell any more than the required one-month severance pay, but because McDowell was so protected within the establishment, he couldn’t guarantee the six votes to fire McDowell no matter what substantiated allegations were hurled at him.
“Yes, it is almost impossible to fire a department head if they have their supporters on the commission, and that was the case with McDowell. He enjoyed that support on the commission and felt protected until he just went too far. As mayor, I had to find a way to get that department back on track,” Johnson said.
Only District Five Commissioner Bobby Williams voted not to accept McDowell’s resignation.
A second copy of the city attorney’s office report, prepared by attorney Michael Kirkwood, stated that it was substantiated that McDowell did “fraternize” with the two employees named.
The report also found substance in the claims that McDowell engaged in “unprofessional conduct such as promising raises to staff, using profanity and allowing its use in the workplace, insulting and/or making fun of employees, taunting employees and initiating sexually suggestive conversations in the workplace.”
According to the official Augusta Policies and Procedures Manual, the substantiated charges should result in termination of employment with cause; however, instead, McDowell was allowed to resign with three months severance pay, leading some to call for further investigation into what took place in Parks and Recreation as well as why Human Resources seemingly ignored numerous complaints about McDowell.
Tim Fulton, former assistant director at Parks and Recreation, who won a financial settlement in his racial discrimination claim against McDowell, says that while he feels even more vindicated with McDowell’s resignation, others should be held responsible for allowing McDowell to remain in the position for as long as he did.
According to Fulton, McDowell’s “sweetheart deal” means that he can easily move to another city and continue his alleged predatory behavior.
“They all knew… They allowed it and that is why Parks and Rec. is in the shape it is today,” Fulton said.
McDowell could not be reached for comment.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
