So outraged by what he described as a &uot;slap on the face…and an embarrassment to the board,&uot; a senior level Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority employee has formally chastised the Commission for settling on a $500 bonus for interim executive director Tracey Snipes last month.

Efren S. Echipare, finance manager for the housing authority, wrote the board of commissioners on Dec. 18 on agency letterhead referring to the &uot;bonus&uot; as a reminder of &uot;penny-pinching Mr. Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol,’&uot; reads an excerpt from the letter obtained by the News-Herald.

SRHA Executive Director Clarissa E. McAdoo abruptly left on medical leave beginning Nov. 6 and is scheduled to return to work on Monday. A Nov. 6th memorandum from Snipes, the agency’s human resources manager, to board chairman Mary V. Richardson and vice chairman Charles W. Carey, indicates that McAdoo will &uot;begin a medical leave per her doctor’s request.&uot;

The same document adds that each of the directors is &uot;poised to handle any situation that may occur in their division.&uot; But two of the five directors had been hired less than six months, and one, Theresa Provost, would soon be vacating her development post to join the city.

With unanswered questions abounding with regard to McAdoo’s leave and accountability during her absence, the board appointed Snipes as its interim executive director during the November meeting. After a brief closed session following last month’s meeting, the board announced that Snipes would receive a net bonus of $500 to compensate for her additional duties.

But this decision ignited Echipare to the point of firing off a letter all the way to the top. SRHA employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, believe that while it appears that another employee, Patricia Scott, was retaliated against when she was fired last month after filing a complaint with the board, it will be interesting to see if Echipare faces any reprimand for his brazen move.

Echipare, responsible in part for issuing agency payments, went as far as writing, &uot;I was appalled and disgusted when I found out about how much bonus I need to pay Tracey. …The $500 is not commensurate to the additional responsibilities assumed by Tracey. Neither was it commensurate to the amount of money you have in the bond fund.&uot;

The finance manager went on to criticize the commissioners about their willingness to spend the same amount to take its senior residents on a trip to see Christmas lights and eat ice cream, &uot;and they will be there just for the free ride,&uot; Echipare wrote. &uot;It is a slap on the face to Tracey and a big embarrassment to the Board, especially in the season of giving.&uot;

Echipare attached a copy of the agency’s bank reconciliation report, which has in excess of $1million &uot;in highly liquid investments not to mention your cash of $18,704. I did my math,&uot; he pointed out, adding that the difference between McAdoo’s bi-weekly gross salary and Snipes’ is $1,628.

&uot;This amount multiplied by four two-week periods (during the time of McAdoo’s absence) comes out to $6,514.80. I strongly believe that the bonus for Tracey should have been at least $5,000 and at the most $6,515,&uot; Echipare’s letter reads. &uot;$5,000 is only less than half of one percent (or .49 percent) of your total investments. $6,515 is only 1 percent of your total investments. And you know that $500 is only .05 percent or 1/20 of a percent of your total investments (a drop in the bucket?)&uot;

Echipare not only overstepped his immediate supervisor, but Snipes in her capacity as interim executive director as well. Phone messages left for Echipare and Snipes Friday afternoon were not returned.

SRHA Board Vice Chairman Charles W. Carey would not comment as to how or if the board would be addressing Echipare’s letter, and the bonus amount.

&uot;I don’t have any comment on this personnel issue,&uot; said Carey.

But Board member Daniel Forbes made it clear that he is concerned about the letter, while he does believe the board needs to be open to comments from employees. Forbes went on to state that some type of action should be taken regarding Echipare’s letter.

&uot;I think people should be able to speak to us, but I think this employee took the wrong avenue to do it. He used time at the authority and authority stationary,&uot; said Forbes in a phone interview on Saturday. &uot;He should have gone through the chain of command…I feel he should at least receive an oral reprimand.&uot;

Commissioner Linda Brown said she unsuccessfully pushed to give Snipes at least a $1,000 bonus last month, and does believe Echipare &uot;overstepped.&uot;

&uot;I think she (Snipes) should have got more than what she got. I did try to push for that,&uot; she added. As for Echipare, &uot;He should have came to the board and said something,&uot; said Brown. &uot;I’m also concerned because he did this (wrote the letter) on housing authority time and on housing authority stationery.&uot;