Chocowinity Fire Department involved in lawsuit against town, former employee

CHOCOWINITY, N.C. (WNCT) — A local fire department is in the middle of a lawsuit with the town it serves and a former employee for improper handling of the department’s bank accounts.

The Chocowinity Fire Department reached out to the town in 2004 for help with bookkeeping. The amount of money in question is more than $25,000 and an attorney for the Chocowinity Fire Department said that amount could potentially be even more.

It is now public record that Joy McRoy was the employee who oversaw the accounts. Court documents show that McRoy gave false and misleading statements showing inaccurate numbers for the bank accounts.

Representatives of the fire department said McRoy did this willingly and with intent in her actions to cover up costs for different departments in the county, as well as, for personal funds. Both parties are gathering evidence and information at this time.

In June, town commissioners cut EMS transport and five jobs with EMS being overbudget as a result. A town audit showed a deficit amount of $258,000.

Some solutions the town has come up with are reallocating the funds within the Chocowinity Rural EMS tax district when they introduced a quick response vehicle in Blounts Creek to help with emergency transportation in the area.

Chocowinity Fire’s attorney Steven Johnson II said there are currently no dates set for a trial.

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