RUMFORD – Residents will have a fistful of decisions to make when they go to the polls next month to adopt a budget and decide on changes to ordinances and the charter.

Selectmen at a special meeting Friday night approved the town warrant after narrowly voting to give residents a chance to vote separately on the budgets proposed by the fire and police departments.

Under the traditional town meeting format, residents voted yes or no on a public safety budget amount, which includes not only police and fire, but also emergency management, utilities, pensions and retirement, and code enforcement. This year, all money items will be voted on by referendum at the polls.

Selectmen Jim Rinaldo, Greg Buccina and Mark Belanger voted to break out the two largest departments, while Selectmen Jolene Lovejoy and Arthur Boivin voted to retain the public safety grouping.

Town attorney Jennifer Kreckel said breaking out similar groups could set a precedent for other municipal groupings. Rinaldo said if the public safety budget of $2.46 million is turned down, no one really knows why.

The remaining public safety items will be voted on as a group.

With the municipal budget items, as well as 20 initiated articles or agency requests and 16 proposed ordinance or charter changes, voters will have to make more than 50 decisions.

If any municipal budget item is turned down, selectmen can rework the figure or leave it the same, then present it to voters again after a public hearing. If any initiated article is turned down, then that agency does not receive funding for the year.

Voters will also elect two selectmen, four school board members and an assessor.

And, residents will have a chance to cast nonbinding votes on the level of service they wish to see operate in town. They will be asked whether they want to decrease, increase or leave the same, the level of service provided by the Police Department, Fire Department, public works, public library and parks department.

Charter changes include proposals to allow the same person to serve as plumbing inspector, code enforcement officer and sealer of weights and measures, if selectmen so choose. Another proposed change would allow the person or persons who hold those positions plus those people who serve as auditor or town solicitor to reside outside of town if selectmen agree.

Residents will have a chance to learn more about the proposed budget and other referendum articles at a public hearing at 6 p.m. May 24 at Muskie Auditorium of Mountain Valley High School.

On June 4, the date of the traditional town meeting, residents will again gather at 6 p.m. at the high school to act on the first four articles of the town meeting warrant. This includes choosing a moderator, acting on the annual report for the year ending June 30, 2006, deciding how and when property taxes may be collected and setting a penalty for those paid late, and determining the rate of compensation for municipal officers.

Those attending will also have a chance to learn more about the proposed municipal budget.

This is the first year residents will conduct town business through referendum rather than through a show of hands, or paper ballot, at a traditional open meeting.

Voting will take place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on Congress Street.