RUMFORD – Selectmen heaped more responsibilities and work on police Chief Stacy Carter at Thursday night’s meeting.

They also agreed to allow the fire department to operate at a minimum staffing of three full-time union firefighters at all times until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, after which, it can be renegotiated, Town Manager Len Greaney said.

Previously, the board only allowed two full-time firefighters to run the station if the third was out sick or on vacation.

Following an executive session, selectmen voted 3-1 to hire Carter as interim public safety director and increased his salary by $13,000 annually.

In that same motion, the board also promoted Detective Lt. Daniel Garbarini to the position of police captain, with an annual wage increase of $5,000.

Greaney said Friday morning that the cost-saving proposal was his idea to form a public safety umbrella under which police and fire departments, and the code enforcement, health and animal control officers could be combined.

“The reason behind it is to provide administrative and budgetary oversight of those departments,” Carter said Friday afternoon. “Rather than having a full-time fire chief and a full-time police chief, you have one person with the oversight, so you’re reducing that salary package.”

Carter will continue to be police chief and Mexico-Rumford fire Chief Gary Wentzell will continue to serve as Rumford’s fire chief.

However, Carter will be responsible for the budgets, policies, and management oversight for both police and fire departments.

Greaney said he was pleased selectmen backed his idea.

“I’m hopeful that this decision will support my goal to create an organizational and operational mode staffed by competent managers prior to the introduction of the newly hired town manager,” he said.

A new town manager has yet to be hired. Greaney was hired last year as transition town manager.

“I have a lot of confidence in Stacy Carter. He’s a good administrator. And when the new town manager comes aboard, I’d view Stacy as his right-hand man, because of his administrative skills,” Greaney said.

He said selectmen have legal authority to create a public safety department.

“Somebody could misconstrue the fact that it says certain appointed officers shall not fill more than one position. Actually, fire department or police department are not listed in that list of specific appointed officers, so we’ve chosen to say that they did not mean them,” he said.

Carter said townspeople can decide if they want to continue it or not through a proposed ordinance to be voted at town meeting in June.

“I think it is something that’s very doable and we’re going to put our best feet forward and hope it works. It provides consistency throughout both public safety departments.

“It gives me a lot more to do and I’ll have to manage my time wisely, but I’m willing to put in the extra time and make it work. We won’t know if it works until we try it,” Carter added.