RUMFORD – Town officials launched their search for a new town manager Friday by approving advertisements that will appear next week in several Maine newspapers as well as online.

Resumes for the position are due March 2, with a goal of filling the slot by the end of April.

In the interim, selectmen’s Chairman Jim Rinaldo is assuming the responsibilities of the town manager. He will hold office hours from 9 a.m. until noon each weekday.

The need for a new manager is the result of a judge’s decree Jan. 23 upholding the town’s charter that calls for that person to live in Rumford. Former manager Stephen Eldridge lived in Monmouth.

Selectmen who approved Eldridge’s contract two years ago were not aware of the charter requirement that the town manager reside in town. An attempt in December to change the charter through a referendum failed.

Selectmen and Eldridge agreed Tuesday that he be paid his remaining salary under the three-year contract as well as up to $5,000 in legal fees.

Rinaldo said Thursday that once progress is made on the search for a replacement, the board will take up the residency requirement for three other appointed positions. The people who hold these spots are currently living out of town. They are the auditor, sealer of weights and measures, and the plumbing inspector.

Once the March 2 deadline passes to receive applications for town manager, interviews with candidates are expected to begin the third week in March.

Selectmen and an MMA representative will begin reviewing resumes at a special meeting scheduled for March 8.

“The advertisement will state that the new town manager must relocate to Rumford,” Rinaldo said. In addition to the newspapers, the ad will appear on the Web site of the Maine Municipal Association.

Two residents will assist selectmen with the hiring process, and people interested in participating are asked to put their interest in writing and submit it to the town office.

When Eldridge was hired just over two years ago, Rinaldo said 33 people applied for the position, including from places like Washington state, Florida and North Carolina.