A sewer issue years in the making may finally be on the verge of a resolution.

The Selectmen voted Tuesday to hire accounting firm Powers and Sullivan to perform a "forensic audit" of Wareham's Water Pollution Control Facility's "retained earnings" fund, in hopes of determining how much money may be used to cover the funding gap created by the capping of betterment fees in the Oakdale and Cromesett neighborhoods.

The betterment fee -- the fee that property owners pay to cover the cost of the sewer system expansion to a neighborhood -- is traditionally set by dividing the total cost of a sewer project by the total number of properties in the neighborhoods in the contract. But in 2012, Town Meeting voted to cap fee for the Oakdale and Cromesett neighborhoods at $18,000 per property -- rather than $22,000 per property -- after a group of residents argued that their fees were assessed in an unfair manner.

This created a $1 million funding gap. With the work already done, the bill has to be paid.

"We're on the hook ... and I'm not going to be on the hook for something that hasn't been done right," said Selectman Judy Whiteside. "It needs to be done now."

According to Campinha, the town could have the state look into the matter, but that could take years. He says that there is currently approximately $3.5 million in the retained earnings fund, which is comprised of any surpluses, and is generally reserved to pay for any unforeseen issues that may arise. Dipping into the fund would not cost sewer users any additional money.

"We have been using some of the funds for emergencies," said Campinha. "It's time to see where we are."

The Selectmen are hoping to resolve the situation so as not to leave a mess for another board to clean up. Town Meeting voted in the spring to create a Board of Sewer Commissioners separate from the Board of Selectmen, which currently serves as Sewer Commissioners.