The full report isn't out yet, but the state Department of Housing and Community Development has released a letter outlining the preliminary observations from its July 17 review of the Wareham Housing Authority, and it isn't pretty.

The Housing Authority and its executive director oversee the Agawam Village and Redwood Park affordable housing units in Wareham, and are overseen by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The Housing Authority board consists of four elected members and one state-appointed member. Each term is five years.

The review found that there are insufficient controls in place to document general accounts, credit card accounts, time sheets, fixed assets, and tenant accounts receivable, among others.

One of the more glaring issues identified by DHCD is the failure of the Housing Authority to submit an operating budget with the signatures of all board members.

Because of the board's failure to do so, the Authority has not received its full subsidy for the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

The letter also said that the Authority has violated DHCD regulations, although it did not provide details, in its tenant selection process.

The letter states: "No further selections should be made until details of the violations can be discussed with staff and the [Wareham Housing Authority] can ensure proper CORI procedures are in place."

CORI is short for Criminal Offender Record Information, and details a person's criminal background.

Housing Authority Chair Robert Powilatis, who has raised a number of issues in recent months regarding documentation at the Authority, said that as of Friday afternoon, he had not received the letter from DHCD.

"They released it to the press yesterday," said Powilatis. "This isn't unusual for DHCD."

DHCD spokesman Matthew Sheaff says that a copy of the letter, which is dated August 1, was mailed out on August 5. He says that he also e-mailed a copy to Powilatis, although Powilatis says he did not receive one.

Noting that he believes Powilatis if he says he didn't receive the letter, Sheaff said another copy will be sent to Powilatis promptly.

Powilatis has expressed concern that Former Executive Director Pam Sequeira had been cut a check for $16,000 in severance pay for which he says he has not been able to find documentation.

Sequeira announced her retirement in June, but agreed to continue to work during the Housing Authority's search for a new director. She left abruptly on July 22.

Powilatis expressed dissatisfaction with the way the DHCD has handled the situation, saying they should have noticed red flags such as a lack of yearly inspections.

"Because [DHCD] haven't been doing their job. they don't know it all. … They shouldn't have had to wait until July 17," said Powilatis.

Although the letter outlines just preliminary findings, Powilatis said he is concerned that the scope of the review has not gone far enough.

"I'm disappointed that there's not more meat on the bone," he said. "That's why we are taking the initiative to have the forensic audit" by accounting firm Powers and Sullivan. The Housing Authority agreed last month to hire the firm to conduct a "transitional audit" of its books following Sequeira's departure.

Here are some of the other findings in the letter:

• The Authority's management plan is out of date and incomplete.
• The mandated annual inspections of the units have not been getting done.
• Numerous board meetings had to be canceled due to the board not having a quorum.

As a result of his frustration, Powilatis says he wrote letters to former Authority Chair Donald Hall, former state appointee Paul Innis, and Sequeira asking them to step down.

Hall resigned on July 24. Innis resigned earlier this year.

In an e-mail to Wareham Week, Innis stated that he received no such letter from Powilatis, and that he had planned on stepping down for quite some time. He reiterated an assertion previously made by Sequeira, and denied by Powilatis, that Powilatis bullied members of the board.

"I have served honestly, and always with the feeling that I was professionally carrying out the function of Wareham Housing Authority with integrity. Unfortunately, the last few meetings witnessed by those in attendance show that those of us who have been serving have simply been bullied out," Innis wrote.

Innis also noted that his primary reason for leaving was because he lives elsewhere for several months out of the year, and felt he was not doing a "full-time service to the position."

Powilatis has said in the past that he only asked to be fully informed of the operations of the Authority, and does not feel he bullied anybody.

"What I observed was meetings that don't measure up to what a proper board of directors meeting should be," said Powilatis. "I totally disagree that they were bullied off the board. They were shamed off the board because they were exposed for their failure to do their job."