El Paso public health director resigns
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The City of El Paso's Public Health Department Director resigned, the city confirmed with ABC-7 on Sunday.
Dr. Veerinder "Vinny" Taneja's last day with the city was on Sept. 4. The city said Taneja left the position for "personal and family reasons."
His annual salary at the time of his departure totaled $204,056.23.
Sera Cera now serves as interim director, the city said. She has been working with the City of El Paso since 2013 and most recently served as assistant director.
The city said it expects to start a national search for a permanent public health director in November.
"The City appreciates Dr. Taneja’s service to the organization and the El Paso community and wishes him and his family well," a city spokesperson said.
The city announced Taneja as the director of the department of public health back in June 2024. He started the position in August 2024.
Taneja earned his medical degree from Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India.
Back when the City of El Paso hired Taneja, the WFAA/Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a story about a complaint filed against him while he worked as the Tarrant County public health director. He resigned 24 hours after the story published. HIs tenure there was 10 years.
THe 2021 complaint stemmed from an investigation by the Tarrant County Human Resources Department into allegations of a toxic and hostile work environment. HR interviewed 16 staff and former staff.
The staff interviewed who filed the complaint said the pandemic made the leadership problems, whic they described as bullying and micromanagement.
Tarrant investigators said they didn't find anything that would lead the county to be subject to discrimination lawsuits or that Taneja broke the law.
A recommendation to address Taneja's management and the assistant director at the time, Angela Hagy, was made to prevent "loss of talent" due to the environment.
ABC-7 reached out to the City of El Paso about the complaint and his hiring back in June 2024. The city sent the following statement:
"Dr. Taneja was formally hired by Interim City Manager Cary Westin, this is standard protocol for all new directors. The City of El Paso is aware of the accusations against Dr. Taneja during his time at the Tarrant County Public Health Department, but these accusations were not substantiated and were thoroughly discussed during the hiring process. He was selected because he has more than two decades of experience spanning local, regional, and state levels in public health expertise and he has a proven track record in public health leadership that led to Tarrant County Public Health being honored as the Large Local Health Department of the Year in 2017 by the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Dr. Taneja is still completing the onboarding process. His salary details can be made available via the Open Records Request process once he is officially a City employee in August. We will also work to make Dr. Taneja available for interviews once he is settled in his position and has had time to familiarize himself with his new role."
