Town Administrator Mark Andrews has terminated Town Accountant Elizabeth Zaleski after the draft results of a financial audit revealed that $919,000 is unaccounted for, according to a press release from the Wareham Police Department.

The audit was completed by accounting firm Powers and Sullivan and covered fiscal year 2010.

Auditor James Powers told the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee Wednesday during a joint meeting of the two boards that it is currently unclear what happened to the money. He said the variance could be due to accounting errors from past years or the "misappropriation of funds" by an employee. He said the error likely was a result of the improper reconciliation of funds.

"The most important control is the reconciliation of cash between the accountant's ledgers and the treasurer's ledgers," Powers told the boards. "When everything shook out as of June 30, 2010 [the end of the fiscal year], we had a variance of roughly $919,000."

Zaleski noted Wednesday that there is evidence that suggests that roughly $300,000 could be accounted for in fiscal year 2010, but until the audit is complete, that cannot be confirmed.

Finance Committee member Dick Paulsen asked whether that meant that the remaining $600,000 could be found in the current fiscal year.

"That is a logical assumption. However, I don't know what the $300,000 is from this point in time," Powers responded. "I'm not ruling out the fact that the $600,000 or the $900,000 could have happened in fiscal year 2010."

Zaleski's termination became effective on April 4.

"By Friday morning [April 1] I knew enough information. I took immediate action based on the research I conducted. For that I would pat myself on the back," Andrews said in a phone call Monday. "[Zaleski's] books didn't match. The documentation wasn't there."

Andrews said the $919,000 "will not have an impact on the 2012 budget."

Finance Committee member Richard Paulsen indicated that it would be difficult to vote on the budget at Town Meeting, however, with $919,000 of the town's money unaccounted for. The Finance Committee agreed at its last meeting to recommend to Andrews that the budget vote be delayed until June, Paulsen said.

The press release indicated that Andrews has formed a "fiscal recovery plan" for the Town Accountant’s office, which will place qualified individuals in the office to reconcile all of the town’s finances. Those individuals will report to Andrews and perform under the guidance of Powers and Sullivan.

Andrews originally indicated that Powers would serve as Acting Town Accountant, but Powers told the Board of Selectmen during its April 5 meeting that he could not act in that role. It is currently unclear who will fill the role.

Andrews has also requested that the town's department heads take immediate action to correct deficiencies affecting their departments as noted in the audit. He has given department heads a deadline of May 1 to complete the corrections, according to the press release.

Andrews is looking for a replacement for the full-time position of Town Accountant and is "taking immediate steps to further standardize the town’s accounting policies and procedures to eliminate the possibility of this happening in the future," according to the press release.

Board of Selectmen Chair Jane Donahue said Zaleski's termination was "unfortunate."

“As I've said many times before, people need to be held accountable," Donahue said. "She did a lot of good things and I think she was overwhelmed. It was too much for too long and she was trying to handle it all on her own and it just didn't work out. She needed to put her hand up and ask for help and she didn't. She tried to fix it herself and it didn't work out.”

Selectman Cara Winslow, who called for Andrews to terminate Zaleski or resign in the days following the release of report, said she was pleased with the decision.

"I applaud Mr. Andrews for taking the swift action that he did. The audit speaks for itself," Winslow said. "I am looking forward to resolving this issue and moving forward so that the community as a whole feels confident in our fiscal practices. This is their money."

Selectman Steve Holmes also voiced support for the decision. "[Andrews is] the TA [Town Administrator] and he has to do what he thinks is best," Holmes said. "I support his decision if that's what he feels is the right step to get this resolved."

Selectman Walter Cruz declined to comment at this time. Selectman Brenda Eckstrom did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrews said the press release came from Wareham Police because the town does not have a designated public relations employee.

Zaleski was hired by Interim Town Administrator John Sanguinet in July of 2009 at a rate of $64,864 per year, according to her three-year contract with the town. Her salary was raised to $68,814 per year last July.

Zaleski was hired despite not meeting the minimum qualifications for the position as listed in the job posting. Zaleski does not have a bachelor's degree, but her contract required her to obtain one in business administration, accounting, or a related field. It also allowed her to miss up to a half-day of work per week without the loss of pay to attend classes. It is unclear how close Zaleski was to getting a degree.

During his reports to the Board of Selectmen, Andrews frequently praised Zaleski for resolving many of the financial problems listed by the state Department of Revenue in a review of the town's financial management completed last July.

Click here to access the Powers and Sullivan audit report on the Town of Wareham website.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.