Gorham voters on Tuesday will decide whether a drunken driving conviction constitutes a crime that would be sufficiently serious to force a town councilor out of office. They will also choose three candidates for the school board and decide whether to spend $5 million to expand a public safety building.

The ballot question stems from two councilors being charged with drunken driving, prompting questions about whether an OUI conviction constitutes “moral turpitude” – a standard listed in the town charter for kicking a town councilor out of office.

The question first came up in 2012 when Councilor Suzanne Phillips was convicted of operating under the influence. The council decided at the time that OUI was not a crime of moral turpitude, but revisited the question this year after Councilor Benjamin Hartwell pleaded guilty to OUI.

The town is asking voters to decide whether to leave the wording as it as, or define moral turpitude as any Class A, B, C or D crime – an OUI is a Class D crime. – which would force a councilor from office.

The outcome of the vote would not affect Hartwell, whose term ends in 2016, or Phillips, whose term is ending and who is running for a school board seat.

The spending proposal would create a public safety complex by converting the existing public safety building at 270 Main St. into a fire station and building a new 10,000-square-foot police station in front of it.

The police and fire departments’ need for more space was first identified in 1999, but proposals to address the issue have failed at the polls or not gone to a vote. Town officials have said showers, sleeping areas, interview rooms, offices and storage space are all inadequate.

Last year, nearly three-quarters of voters rejected borrowing $6.3 million to renovate the former Little Falls school into a new headquarters for the police and fire departments. Some believe the location turned voters against the project.

The proposal going to voters Tuesday would cost less and keep the departments in the same place. A new training area would serve both departments and double as an emergency operations center for the town. Also, two additional fire bays would be added to the station.

Town Manager David Cole has said the project would initially increase the town’s tax rate by 30 cents, tacking $60 onto the tax bill for a $200,000 home, but then decrease by about a penny a year after that.

The project could begin as early as next spring and be completed by the spring of 2016.

In addition, four candidates are seeking three school board seats in the election Tuesday.

Phillips, Forrest Genthner and current school board members Dennis Libby and Sara Nelson are competing for those seats, all for three-year terms. The open seat has been held by Kathy Garrard, who is not running.

Phillips, 38, a child care provider, said what she learned about the school department from her term on the council inspired her to run for the board. She also wants to have a hand in choosing a new superintendent and believes she has the right education, work and political experience for the job.

Genthner, 19, is a part-time church pianist and student at St. Joseph’s College. A graduate of Gorham High School, he vows to “work for students, teachers and parents” and “make sure that the School Committee is transparent and easily accessible,” according to his campaign website.

Nelson, 46, a stylist at boutique accessories company Stella & Dot, is finishing her first term on the School Committee.

She wants to “continue to serve our kids, our staff and our town to support a strong foundation for our schools through a responsible budget.”

Libby, 47, a maintenance technician for Woodfords Family Services, has served on the board for nine years, four of them as chairman. He wants to keep serving to see that Gorham students “have as many opportunities to explore their interests to prepare them for whatever they chose to do after school,” while maintaining a responsible budget.

On the Town Council, current Chairman Michael Phinney and retiring police Chief Ronald Shepard are running uncontested for two seats.