With 18 years of experience as the director of the Medway Council on Aging under her belt, Missy Dziczek has been named Wareham’s new Council on Aging Director.

On Tuesday, the Selectmen unanimously voted that Dziczek would fill the spot, which has been vacant since 2014 when an override that would have funded the position failed.

Senior Day Care Coordinator Deborah Ramos had been paid to oversee some aspects of services for Wareham seniors. Ramos left that position in March.

Even with Dziczek’s hire, there is no guarantee that she will stay past June 30, 2017 because the position is being paid for with a one-time state grant.

“I'm not saying that she'll be laid off on July 1, but what I'm saying is at this point, we don't have any say beyond June 30,” said Town Administrator Derek Sullivan.

Since budget cuts were made to the COA back in 2014, the program has suffered blows. It runs solely on grants and on a year-to-year basis. After Ramos left in March, the senior center almost closed. At the urging of Council on Aging members, Sullivan looked into the issue and came back with a solution.

In July, the state budget included $55,000 for a new director. Sullivan credited State Representative Susan Williams-Gifford (R-Wareham) for fighting to ensure the money was part of the state's $39 billion budget.

Officials learned the grant was approved in September, Sullivan said. Though he is unsure when Dziczek will start, he's hopeful it will be before the end of December.

Dziczek was not present at the Selectmen's meeting.