RUMFORD – Selectmen last week unanimously voted to approve Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a municipal holiday. In exchange, employees will no longer have Good Friday as a paid holiday.

Town Manager Jim Doar said keeping the municipal offices open on Martin Luther King Day is unproductive because virtually all banks, other municipal offices and state offices are closed. Employees who wish to take Good Friday off may do so by using vacation time, or unpaid time.

The King holiday generally falls on the third Monday of January. Good Friday can fall anytime between late March and early May, contingent upon the Easter date.

In other matters, Doar said he has requested a legal opinion from town lawyer Tom Carey on action to eliminate the Charter Commission taken by a majority of selectmen.

He said he doesn’t believe the board can disregard the action taken by a majority of residents more than a year ago to set up the commission to review the town’s charter, which is more than 50 years old.

A determination should be made by the time the board meets in early January.