Several years worth of grievances were aired on Tuesday after the Board of Selectmen and town administrator presented their plan to combine aspects of Wareham’s Community and Economic Development and Town Planning departments.

The plan, if approved by Town Meeting voters this month, would combine director positions in both departments to streamline services and save the town $90,000 annually, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan told the Community and Economic Development Authority (CEDA) board at the Selectmen’s meeting.

As it is currently structured, the CEDA director manages the day-to-day operations of the department. The position is filled by consulting firm Community Opportunities Group at this time, following the departure of full-time CEDA Director Salvador Pina at the end of last year. The seven-member volunteer CEDA Board, appointed by the Board of Selectmen, advises both the CEDA director and Selectmen.

Sullivan explained that he saw an opportunity to streamline services after considering what to do about the vacancies in both departments, which do similar work. The town recently hired a part-time town planner for a six-month period as Sullivan and Selectmen decide their next steps. Wareham had been without a planner since 2012 after a part-time planner shared with the Town of Rochester left for a full-time position in one town.

CEDA’s primary source of funding is the Community Development Block Grant Program, a federally-funded grant program designed to help small cities and towns meet community development needs.

In Massachusetts, these funds filter through the Department of Housing and Community Development. Based on its percentage of low- and moderate-income families, Wareham is a designated “mini-entitlement” community, which means it receives grant funds on an annual basis without having to compete for them, as most other municipalities do.

Selectmen invited the CEDA board to their meeting to explain the plan and clarify questions related to who is responsible for managing the department’s staff.

According Sullivan, questions of who’s in charge have hampered the office for years.

“We have lost employees due to it,” Sullivan said. “It’s one of those issues where people are more worried about control than getting the job done. I am beyond frustrated.”

Sullivan’s plan calls for integrating the Community and Economic Development director and planning director positions into a new director of economic development and planning. The new director would oversee the Community and Economic Development Department, the Planning Department, Inspectional Services, Community Preservation, Zoning, and Conservation.”

CEDA board members were angered that Tuesday was the first time the plan was brought to their attention.

“Sadly, the CEDA board has zero knowledge so far,” said Michael Fitzpatrick. “If this is to simply join two positions together to save us $90,000 we’re doing a disservice to the town and the residents.”

For more than an hour, Selectmen and the CEDA board traded jabs over past issues related to poor communication, the unionization of the office and personnel treatment.

Sullivan and the Selectmen noted that, even if Town Meeting OK’s the merger of the two departments, the transition would not happen over night, and the CEDA board would be involved in the planning process.

At the end of the meeting, tempers had cooled.

“What I’m hearing is that we’re in this together,” said CEDA member Barbara Sullivan. “That is heartening for me.”

Selectmen have scheduled a meeting between several different boards to discuss the reorganization plan and other matters for Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.