PENDER COUNTY — Two months ago, Pender County filed a lawsuit against the Shiloh Columbia Volunteer Fire Department for failing to meet service and financial transparency requirements. But as Shiloh prepares its response, a former volunteer is challenging the suit’s core claims.
READ MORE: Pender lawsuit against Shiloh-Columbia FD alleges financial misconduct, nepotism
In comments to Port City Daily, Travis Mitchell — who began volunteering with Shiloh Columbia in 2015 — challenged the suit’s charges of incompetence, financial misconduct, and nepotism.
He also said he and four other volunteers — who are paid part-time staff — have yet to receive payroll earnings owed to them; he said the county assured them they would receive payment when it shut down the department on Oct. 4. He added he received an email from Alter-All, a fire prevention supplier serving as one of the department’s vendors, complaining it also hasn’t been paid.
“It’s funny to me how in their lawsuit and their accusations they’re alleging mismanagement of funds,” Mitchell told PCD. “When they’ve frozen our accounts — taken over our accounts, our access and everything — and yet they are mismanaging our funds by not paying our bills.”
Mitchell said he is owed $1,258 total; $1,008 for 72 hours worked and $250 for five nights, as the department paid $50 per night shift.
On Friday, Pender attorney Patrick Buffkin told PCD he was sympathetic to volunteers and employees who have yet to receive payment, but said the issue was out of the county’s control.
“Shiloh could have been a lot more prompt about getting [bills] to us,” Buffkin said.
He said the documentation the county received was “not great” and required additional time to review. The county then set up a new vendor account through the finance office in order to pay Shiloh’s expenses, which required additional time; he said future payments should be received more quickly.
“As far as I know the checks are out in the mail,” he said Friday, saying he was surprised staff still haven’t received payment and noted it is possible they have been written to wrong addresses.
Pender took over Shiloh-Columbia’s finances after filing the suit, arguing it failed to meet financial reporting requirements and misallocated public funds. The county estimated the the department misused an amount “greater than $25,000”. Buffkin said that figure is the jurisdictional threshold for security court but he anticipates a more precise number will be established over the course of the litigation.
The defendants in Pender’s suit include Shiloh-Columbia Volunteer Fire Department, Chief William Rossell, and president of the board of directors Fred Simpson.
Two years before Pender’s Oct. 4 lawsuit, former fire chief Mark Haraway filed an official complaint with the county after an investigation of the department.
Shiloh-Columbia’s problems raised by Haraway and current fire marshall Amy Burton include:
- Failure to provide staff with adequate training and certifications
- Used nepotistic hiring practices and used the station as a permanent residence
- Failure to obtain and deploy appropriate fire protection and suppression equipment
- Failure to maintain a properly functioning vehicle
- Failure to appropriately cooperate with other fire departments in the rendering of mutual aid
- Failure to ensure staff are wearing required protective equipment and allowing staff to engage in activities they are not adequately trained to perform
Buffkin told PCD there was an informal effort to improve Shiloh’s performance after Haraway’s complaint, but because the situation deteriorated further the county believed litigation was necessary.
Buffkin said one illustration of Shiloh- Columbia’s inappropriate use of funds was the purchase of TVs, AV equipment, and drones; Mitchell countered that other departments make the same purchases.
PCD asked Burton if other departments used their funds on similar items but she said she could not answer.
Superior Court Judge Kent Harrell approved Pender’s request for a temporary restraining order against Shiloh Columbia on Oct. 5. Buffkin said the county was afraid the volunteer department would “drain their bank account” and seize equipment bought with public funds.
At an Oct. 11 hearing, the court agreed to extend the temporary restraining order; it was extended again Oct. 23 before making it permanent at a Nov. 7 hearing. As a result, Shiloh-Columbia can’t withdraw money from the department’s bank account, move or carry away its property, or destroy or conceal any records from the facility.
“Their defense counsel was prepared to make a presentation and arguments and he did that,” Buffkin said. “I presented our case and the judge agreed with us and made the injunction permanent until the litigation is over.”
With the restraining order in place, Buffkin said the county is now giving Shiloh-Columbia’s legal counsel time to respond to the complaint; he did not have an estimate for how long it would take.
“I don’t want to speak for them on this but I think their attorney is trying to get his arms around the situation and figure out how to respond and we’re glad to give them more time,” he said. “But that’s the next step. And after that, we would have 30 days to respond to what they say.”
Lawyer Ryan Bostic of Cranfil Sumner LLP is representing Chief Rossell. He told PCD he believes there will not be any hearing dates “for quite some time” and did not have a timeline for when he would submit Shiloh-Columbia’s response to Pender’s complaint. He said he was unable to share more information due to confidentiality agreements with his client.
Mitchell also pushed back on allegations the chief’s family engaged in nepotism. Mitchell said there were only two family members working for the department at the time of the suit in October because the chief stopped earning payment in July while on medical leave. He said four volunteers unrelated to the family were serving at the time.
He claimed at one point there were four Rossell family members working for the department but normally the number was three. Chief Rossell did not respond to PCD’s request for comment.
Buffkin responded that the ratio is still problematic.
“Three out of seven and my understanding is the family members hold all the top jobs,” he said. “Looks like nepotism to me.”
Mitchell claimed Shiloh-Columbia is being unfairly targeted because other regional departments engage in the same practices subject to criticism in the suit. For example, the county alleges Shiloh-Columbia failed to maintain a 1,000-gallon water tank; Mitchell argued other departments only use 500 gallons in their fire trucks.
Before joining Shiloh, Mitchell worked as a volunteer firefighter for almost 25 years with other regional fire departments including Northwest and Rocky Point.
Buffkin responded Shiloh does not have fire hydrants unlike other municipalities; he argued the ability to carry water is more important without sufficient water infrastructure.
Jackie Newton, vice-chairwoman of the county’s board of commissioners, sat on Shiloh Columbia’s board of directors. PCD reached out to Newton asking if she was aware of Shiloh’s problems and if the department’s issues could be resolved if reinstated but did not receive an answer by press.
Buffkin said it was still possible the county could drop the litigation by reaching agreements with Shiloh-Columbia to resolve the problems. He stated public safety is more important than litigation and noted Shiloh’s district is currently being covered by other fire departments including Penderlea, Burgaw, and Atkinson.
“As long as the public is safe, we will continue to work cooperatively with them and give them the time they need to work on this,” he said.
Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.
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