RUMFORD — Selectmen will convene a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, to discuss proposed changes to the Motor Vehicles for Hire Ordinance in Rumford Falls Auditorium.
The board will also set a date for a special town meeting, which is expected to be held following two public hearings on the matter.
At issue is a 2007 amendment to the ordinance that bars cabbies from operating taxis if they have any criminal convictions. The amendment wasn’t enforced until last month when police Chief Stacy Carter received a list of drivers and found nine of the 12 had criminal convictions dating back to 1968.
That meant they could no longer drive cabs in Rumford, according to the ordinance, which makes taxi company owners ensure that their drivers have no felony convictions or more than three misdemeanor convictions related to driving.
On Thursday night, selectmen voted 4-0, granting local cab companies a 30-day reprieve from the ordinance, so that a new amendment can be created.
Selectmen, cab company owners and police Chief Stacy Carter are among those expected to work on the new rule to, among other things, create a regulation that doesn’t penalize drivers for convictions that occurred decades ago.
In other business, the town office is taking a furlough day on Friday, Jan. 15, to help reduce municipal budget costs. The office will be closed through Monday, Jan. 18, which is the Martin Luther King holiday.
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