LONG VIEW, N.C. — A town administrator is off the job after Long View leaders found he was suspected of padding his paycheck with hundreds of hours in sick time and advanced pay.
David Epley's name is no longer in the council chamber in Long View. His picture has been removed from the town's website. But no one we talked with Thursday in Long View knew of his firing or the allegations spelled out in the letter that we showed Michael Francis, who's lived here for years.
"It's not a surprise at all. People who get in power, it seems to go to their head and they feel like they can get away with anything,” resident Michael Francis said.
Evans has lived in town for nearly two decades and said she saw him often when she paid her water bill.
"Seemed very nice and trustworthy. Hard to believe he'd do something like that,” she said.
According to the letter, Epley received four months of his $86,000 salary in advance. He is also accused of forging a town alderman's signature to get paid 400 hours of sick time last summer.
Channel 9 went to his home Thursday but no one came to the door, and Epley has not returned our calls.
If the allegations are true, Jessica Page and her family believe the town should do more than just fire him.
"It's scary to think about people cheating us and forging things. You just don't know who to trust and believe anymore,” she said.
Town leaders said they aren't talking because it's a personnel matter, but they will discuss what happened further at their next council meeting in March.
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