The Wareham Housing Authority voted unanimously on Wednesday, July 24, to contact accounting firm Powers and Sullivan to perform a "transitional audit" of the Authority following the sudden departure of Executive Director Pam Sequiera.

According to an office worker, Sequiera turned her keys in Monday, July 22, after previously agreeing to stay on after her June 30 retirement while the board searched for someone to replace her.

Her decision came on the heels of a "review" of the Wareham Housing Authority by the state Department of Housing and Community Development that took place on Wednesday, July 17. It is unclear if the two events are related.

Sequiera's departure is the latest in a number of changes faced by the board in recent months, including the resignation of its state appointee and, on July 24, the resignation of Authority chair Donald Hall.

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 seats and one state-appointed seat. Each term is five years.

"I left because I just left," said Sequiera. "Things were not going... they didn't enter into an agreement with me about how much I would be getting paid an hour," she said of the Housing Authority.

Sequiera declined to comment further.

Housing Authority member Bob Powilatis disagreed, and said Sequiera submitted a bill for approximately $11,000 for work done in July, but it has not been approved yet.

"For her to say she left because she didn't get paid is a false statement," he added.

"At our last meeting, we said we would set an hourly rate" for Sequiera to be paid during the transitional period. Powilatis said that based on the circumstances of which she left, the board voted to put off paying a bill she submitted claiming she was owed for $36 per hour.

Powilatis had suggested paying her $15 per hour during the transitional period.

"We don't even know what she did," Powilatis told the Housing Authority on July 24, noting that attempts are still being made to find a record of Sequiera's attendance and the hours she worked. "My fear is that she took her sick and vacation [money] and there's no record of it."

Part of the problem, Powilatis says, is that there is a record-keeping issue.

"We checked the records when the accountant came in last week and all the other employees..they had a book that said 'time attended.' There's no 'time attended' for her," said Powilatis.

Powilatis says that he has also been unable to find records to back up what Sequiera says she is owed in sick and vacation time.

"Before the July meeting, she put in for and got paid $16,000 for sick and vacation leave and there's no proof that she accrued it," according to Powilatis.

Powilatis says that her sudden departure has left the Housing Authority in the lurch, and members don't have all the information they need.

"Gas cards, cell phones, passwords for computers … we need an ending report," said Powilatis.

Another issue at hand is that Sequiera agreed to advertise her position while serving during the transitional period, but she did not do so, Powilatis said.

As the changes continue, the board is trying to get its financial house in order.

The Authority did not receive its full subsidy for fiscal year 2013, which ended June 30, because the state based the subsidy on the 2012 budget. Board member Donna Barros did not sign off on the budget, and the budget needs to be approved by all board members.

Barros has been missing meetings due to illness, but according to Powilatis, she will attend a meeting at the end of the month during which the board will try to resolve some of the issues it faces.

"Find out where we stand with the DHCD and any unpaid subsidies the state might owe us," Powilatis said.

The board spent nearly the first hour of the meeting sifting through bills, and Powilatis noticed that a number of the bills included sales tax, which he says the Housing Authority is exempt from paying. He instructed an employee who was present at the meeting to make copies of the bills charging sales tax, and inform the bill collectors that the organization is exempt.

The board also decided to engage Executech Consulting, a Methuen-based company, in a conversation about potentially helping the board find a replacement for the executive director.

For now however, the board needs to figure out exactly where the Housing Authority stands.

"We want to make sure we're on the right track," said Powilatis, "to see what condition we're in as of July 24, and what we inherited."