RUMFORD – Town attorney Tom Carey says one faction of selectmen can’t strip another faction of selectmen of their office.

His ruling may not end the most recent controversy to grip this troubled town, however.

“I disagree with Tom Carey,” Selectman Greg Buccina said. “I will not rescind my vote. If it is overturned, it is overturned.”

Carey’s opinion was delivered Tuesday to Town Manager Jim Doar and selectmen, and later leaked to news reporters and others in town.

“I’m frustrated,” Doar said.

At issue is the removal of Selectmen Frank DiConzo and Arthur Boivin by Selectmen Greg Buccina and Brad Adley at the March 6 meeting. That action followed an earlier move led by DiConzo and Boivin to disband the Charter Commission. That panel was elected by residents or appointed by municipal officers to recommend changes to the town’s constitution.

Carey’s letter states that the dismissal of DiConzo and Boivin by Buccina and Adley was illegal. He wrote that the action violates the town’s charter as well as Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern selectmen’s meetings.

The ruling also states that an officer must be notified in writing at least seven days before the effective date of removal. The basis for that wasn’t clear. The charter has no provision for removing an elected official.

Buccina said his move to oust DiConzo and Boivin was legal because a plurality of selectmen voted that night.

Adley also says he did the right thing.

“I believe in my heart that what I did was right. Now there’s the rule of law, the charter and state law. But I believe I did what is best for the town,” he said Tuesday afternoon.

DiConzo and Boivin, who were dismissed, and Selectman Mark Belanger, who was reprimanded, have until Thursday to decide if they’ll appeal the action by the other two selectmen.

The Board of Appeals, the same panel that overturned DiConzo and Boivin’s earlier dismissal of the Charter Commission, would be the board to take up their appeal.

Belanger said he believes the dismissal of selectmen was illegal because there was no quorum.

All five selectmen were present, but only Buccina and Adley voted on the dismissals and to reprimand Belanger. Because they were the targets of the action, Belanger, Boivin and DiConzo didn’t vote.

DiConzo and Boivin said Tuesday evening at a municipal budget meeting that they have not decided what action to take.

In the meantime, Doar said the St. Pierre family – Belanger’s in-laws – filed complaints against Buccina and Adley over their actions. Similar citizen complaints were previously filed against DiConzo, Boivin and Belanger.

Buccina, meanwhile, says he has no plans to resign. He intends to see the budget process to its end. Then, he said, he will decide if he wants to seek re-election. Belanger’s term also expires in June.

Carey’s letter will be taken up at a special board meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday. Carey says a Board of Appeals hearing isn’t needed because the removal of selectmen wasn’t legal to begin with.

When DiConzo and Boivin were stripped of office by Buccina and Bradley last week, selectmen had worked only part way through their agenda.

The bickering frustrates Town Manager Doar, who said it is hurting the town government’s ability to conduct business.

Because they’re elected, he doesn’t believe selectmen can be removed from office by other selectmen. But he wondered why those selectmen, with different members voting, could attempt to remove Charter Commission members, who are also partially elected.

He also wonders why only two selectmen could approve a liquor license last year, but that same board is being called to task when two members voted on another matter, in this case, to remove DiConzo and Boivin.

“Why was that legal and this is not?” he asked Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m frustrated with this. This is petty personality stuff,” he said.