RUMFORD – Selectmen and the four residents who make up the Town Manager Hiring Committee have narrowed the slate of candidates down to two.

Board Chairman Jim Rinaldo said the finalists were determined after interviews with six candidates Tuesday afternoon.

The finalists are men and will be interviewed for a second time in early- to mid-April. One is from Maine and the other from outside the state.

“The two sound good and have experience in finance and leadership, and other areas we’re interested in,” Rinaldo said Thursday afternoon.

One of the candidates is a former town manager and the other is a financial analyst.

Rinaldo said both have economic development experience, advocate regionalizing services, and are enthusiastic about leading Rumford.

Although neither was chosen unanimously by the hiring committee, Rinaldo said they both received a definite majority of the committee.

Tentative plans call for an offer to be made to the selected person soon after the second interview.

Hopes are to fill the position in early May.

Twenty-four men and women applied for the position. The hiring committee interviewed six of them.

The vacancy is a result of former Town Manager Stephen Eldridge leaving the job after more than two years because a court ruled he must abide by the town charter and move from his home in Monmouth to Rumford.

Police Chief Stacy Carter was named interim manager last week after the board learned state law prohibited Rinaldo from doing so.

Police Lt. Mark Cayer will be formally named interim police chief at the next selectmen’s meeting, which is scheduled for April 5.