SAN ANTONIO – The Alamo Area Council of Governments board allowed its besieged Executive Director Diane Rath to retire Wednesday amid allegations she had created a hostile work environment for employees.
The AACOG board voted without opposition to approve a retirement agreement for Rath Wednesday morning following a closed-door discussion and public comments from a half-dozen former employees who slammed her performance leading AACOG since 2014.
“I want the public to understand that we’ve been working on this problem for some time. And we’ve had extensive discussions back and forth with Ms. Rath and her attorney. My motion is that, since Ms. Rath has indicated her desire to retire from AACOG effective today, I move that we accept her retirement request,” said the board’s vice-chairman, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, adding on the general terms of the retirement agreement.
Rath will be paid through the end of the year and paid for her unused vacation days. There will also be a mutual waiver of any claims -- essentially an agreement that neither side will sue the other.
The board also voted to appoint AACOG General Counsel and Senior Director Clifford Herberg Jr. as the new executive director with a 10% pay bump and a review in six months. Herberg had been filling in for the position during Rath’s absence.
RATH’S RESPONSE
Reached through the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter, after the board meeting, Rath declined an interview but provided the following written statement:
“I was privileged to serve as AACOG executive director the past 9 years. I am immensely proud of what the team has accomplished in rebuilding the agency and the multiple national awards we have received. There are always some disgruntled employees, but I am pleased with the board’s decision and action. I wish AACOG continued success in the future.
“My entire career has been about service, and I know we have made a difference in so many lives in the AACOG region and my beloved hometown of San Antonio.”
Before joining AACOG in 2014, Rath was an executive at ResCare Workforce Services. She was also chairwoman of the Texas Workforce Commission from 1996 until 2008, having been appointed by then-Gov. George W. Bush.
“CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS AND GRIEVANCES”
AACOG Board Chairman and McMullen County Judge James Teal notified other board members on Oct. 6 that he had placed Rath on paid administrative leave due to an internal investigation in response to “certain allegations and grievances.”
Though AACOG declined to confirm what the specific allegations were, KSAT obtained an anonymous letter that Rath had created a hostile work environment through “relentless negative criticism, name-calling, vulgar language, and all around cynical behavior.”
The author of the letter, which was signed by “Faithful and Loyal AACOG Employees,” said Rath personally attacked employees and that “unfortunately, I believe that in some instances these attacks are motivated by racial and prejudicial beliefs held by Diane Rath.”
It was not clear if the investigation by AACOG’s human resources department and outside attorneys had been completed prior to Rath’s retirement.
Speaking to KSAT after the vote, Herberg said he could not comment on personnel matters but said the investigation is “put to bed now.”
HISTORY OF ISSUES
A group of six former AACOG employees also described their own issues with Rath during the meeting’s public comment portion ahead of the board’s vote. Their accusations included Rath making belittling comments, mocking employees, and retaliating against people who crossed her.
Sherrie Huckabay said she was the senior director of human resources when Rath arrived at AACOG in 2014 and told board members, “I don’t need to read that report because I have lived it. I have witnessed it.”
Rath was “ill-suited for the position of executive director from day one,” Huckabay said, and was “on a mission” early on to terminate a pair of department heads “in violation of AACOG policy and procedure.”
“Other directors who were not targeted for termination were ridiculed, harassed, bullied, demoted into submission or resignation,” Huckabay said.
Tiffany Harris said she resigned from AACOG in 2018 after Rath decided to promote Harris’s assistant to a position over her. She said Rath tried to blackball her at her next job by emailing the CEO and board and insinuating Harris had been fired for performance issues.
Harris declined to tell board members where she works now because “I still have fears that Diane will retaliate against me again.”
Though the former employees asked the board to terminate Rath without severance, former Director of Housing and Energy Conservation René Chadick said she still felt vindicated by the board’s decision. Immediate retirement is “virtually the same thing as ‘terminated, effective immediately,’” she said.
“The point is, she’s gone, and she’s not going to be able to do what she’s done anymore,” Chadick said.
WHAT’S NEXT
AACOG is a voluntary association of local governments and organizations from 13 counties. Its board of directors is comprised of representatives from those local governments and organizations, as well as state legislators.
Largely funded by state and federal grants, its services include planning and technical assistance for public projects, a law enforcement training academy, public transit in rural areas, and various forms of health and other assistance for older adults.
Herberg said AACOG’s goal is to continue serving the community.
“A transition like this is always a unique and stressful situation, but I’m excited to take the position and look forward to working on all the successes that Diane Rath built for AACOG and moving forward,” Herberg said.