RUMFORD – Voters will decide on Tuesday whether to grant selectmen permission to hire people from outside of town for several appointed positions.

The special referendum election, which would amend the town charter, takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the American Legion Hall on Congress Street.

At issue is whether the positions of town manager, sealer of weights and measures, plumbing inspector and auditor can be filled from outside the town if approved by selectmen.

People holding the positions now live in Monmouth, Mexico, Bethel and Hallowell, respectively. The charter requires that they reside in Rumford.

If the amendment is voted down, Town Manager Stephen Eldridge said selectmen will likely take up the issue at their Dec. 7 meeting. He said it is likely that the town will have to advertise for a new auditor, sealer of weights and measures, and plumbing inspector. He said auditor Harold Blake is conducting the annual town audit. Blake has conducted the audit for 13 years.

Eldridge does not believe the vote will affect his position because he has a signed contract from selectmen that is good until June 2008.

Local lawyer Tom Carey and a small group of residents have been challenging Eldridge’s contract for several months. Carey filed a lawsuit claiming the contract is not legal. The town’s lawyer, Jennifer Kreckel, filed a motion to dismiss the case. No resolution has been determined by the court.

Eldridge was hired in January 2005.