RUMFORD – Local attorney Tom Carey, on behalf of some unidentified town residents, filed a complaint in Oxford County Superior Court on Tuesday claiming Town Manager Steve Eldridge’s appointment violates the town charter.

The complaint, filed Monday at the courthouse in Paris, asks that the appointment be deemed invalid until provisions of the town charter are met.

Also on Monday, Carey submitted a motion for a temporary restraining order in an attempt to stop selectmen from signing a contract with Eldridge at its regular meeting tonight.

Selectmen were given a copy of the motion Friday.

Selectmen’s Chairman Jim Rinaldo said Wednesday afternoon that he was not going to dispute or agree with anything Carey claimed until town attorney Jennifer Kreckel advises the board.

Kreckel and Carey are scheduled to discuss the two filings during a telephone conference with Justice Robert Crowley at 10 a.m. today.

Carey said his motion asks for an injunction to prevent selectmen from giving Eldridge a contract tonight, but after Eldridge’s swearing in by Town Clerk Jane Giasson Monday morning, and with three selectmen signing the appointment and the oath, he wants to invalidate the appointment.

Rinaldo said he and Selectmen Jolene Lovejoy and Greg Buccina signed the appointment, all at different times during the afternoon. Selectman Arthur Boivin was out of town, and Selectman Mark Belanger did not receive the message until late Monday afternoon.

“When we found that the town clerk was supposed to swear in Steve, we did something about the error. We corrected it,” he said.

Eldridge said he has never had to be sworn in as a town manager in any other town he has served.

Carey said the board decided to appoint Eldridge and swear him in within a few business hours of the motion being served Friday afternoon.

“Now, because of the change of events, we want invalidation of the appointment made on Monday,” Carey said.

Monday’s appointment extends Eldridge’s tenure until June 2008 to meet the charter requirement that town managers are supposed to be appointed at the selectmen’s organizational meeting following a June primary election.

Eldridge began his duties on Jan. 3, 2005, and was granted a three-year contract on Jan. 7, 2005, according to the complaint. The terms of the agreement were to be from Dec. 31, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2007, Carey wrote to the court.

According to the town charter, the town manager could have been appointed until the June organizational meeting, then given a one-year contract. The charter stipulated that a town manager cannot get a three-year contract until he or she has served for one year.

Carey argues that should have been the case with Eldridge.

He also said the board did not follow the charter in hiring Eldridge because he doesn’t live in Rumford.

Rinaldo said as long as the town manager performs his job, it doesn’t matter where he lives. He said Eldridge regularly puts in far more than 40 hours a week. He said, too, that other employees live in towns other than Rumford.

Carey said his purpose in filing the papers was not to be that broad.

“This one was obvious and direct. I didn’t care about the others as it did not relate to the challenge. I was told that one of the selectmen was aware of the alleged improprieties and said ‘so what’ to the residency issue,” he said.

Carey said he represents a group of people who are concerned that the charter is not being followed and that officials would take liberties with it. He would not identify his clients. He said he was representing them at no cost.

“I have no ax to grind with the town manager, but he is not a person who was officially appointed,” Carey said.

He said, too, that if Eldridge’s appointment is invalid, then his actions could be invalidated as well.

Rinaldo said the filings are a waste of time and money. He said he did not know what the legal costs will be to the town.

Plans are to go ahead with a closed session tonight to continue discussing Eldridge’s contract, then a decision in open session to renew the contract that will coincide with the charter.

Eldridge said he has a legally binding contract with the board. He has an attorney to represent him in the dispute.

In the meantime, a newly formed charter commission has been organized with its mission to review the document and present a preliminary report to selectmen by next June.

Rinaldo believes much of the charter is out of date, particularly the residency requirement.

“It was right in its day, but now there is better transportation,” he said of the 55-year-old document.