Former Tarrant County Public Health director addresses allegations before resignation

A letter sent to former county public health director Vinny Taneja on Feb. 2 — obtained by the Star-Telegram through a records request — shows he was set to be terminated before his resignation.

The letter from county administrator Chandler Merritt notified Taneja he would be placed on administrative leave for three violations.

News of the intent to fire Taneja was first published by the Fort Worth Report.

Among the violations was a “notable amount” of work environment complaints, which the Star-Telegram wrote about earlier this month.

Taneja resigned Feb. 6, the day after the story was published and four days after he was placed on administrative leave.

In 2022, former county administrator G.K. Maenius met with Taneja to discuss concerns about the work environment and coach him on ways to smooth things over with employees, according to the letter.

In a letter responding to the notice of termination, Taneja said he took Maenius’ advice and made other efforts to boost employee morale, including raising wages, providing more remote work opportunities and offering mental health services.

Taneja also said the pressure of the pandemic caused the increase in workplace complaints, but added that he believed that was a “county wide phenomenon” and mentioned the sheriff’s office also received a number of complaints during that time period.

“I’m very proud of the work my team and I did at Tarrant County Public Health for the last 10 years. I have always performed my work with honesty, integrity and compassion for the community,” Taneja told the Star-Telegram in a statement.

Another complaint cited in the letter was that the health department under Taneja failed to report to law enforcement all cases of HIV infections among minors from adult contact.

The topic came up in a Dec. 5, 2023, meeting when County Judge Tim O’Hare asked Taneja how many cases of HIV in children had been reported to the sheriff’s office since he had requested a change to the policy in March 2023.

Taneja said he didn’t know the number. According to Merritt’s letter, the policy had not been changed in March 2023, as Taneja had been directed. Instead, Taneja asked a colleague to sign her name with the incorrect date as well. Merritt wrote that Taneja had been “dishonest by backdating the policy and then coercing staff to participate in this apparent effort to conceal the delay.”

Taneja said he instructed his team to get the policy clarified and signed in March 2023 following his meeting with Maenius. However, Taneja said he was unaware that the policy was not signed until he learned about it in December. He said there were concerns among the staff about HIPPA information being shared with law enforcement. He told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday that he never coerced anyone to backdate the policy.

The final of the three complaints outlined in the letter of termination was that the county health department had reduced an invoice with the city of Fort Worth without county commissioners approval.

The invoice stemmed from an inter-local agreement between the city and county for saliva COVID testing. It was reduced from $514,476 to $299,500.

Taneja wrote in his letter to Merritt that he did not negotiate with the city of Fort Worth. There was an error in the invoice that Fort Worth pointed out and his team addressed.

In a statement to the Star-Telegram, Republican county commissioner Manny Ramirez said he he stands by the investigation and Merritt’s decision.

“I am confident that County Administrator Chandler Merritt conducted a complete and thorough investigation of any allegations prior to making his recommendations,” Ramirez said. “As a result of that investigation, Mr. Taneja voluntarily chose to resign.”

Ramirez said he is looking forward to working with the new public health director.