Durham residents on Tuesday voted 404-150 in favor of amending the Androscoggin County charter, which, if approved county-wide would give county commissioners more power in deciding the salaries and benefits of elected officials, including themselves.

Results of the county-wide vote were not available Tuesday night.

The ballot article read as follows: “Do you favor amending the Androsgoggin County Charter, Article 3.7, Compensation, as follows: Notwithstanding the final authority of the Board of Commissioners over the adoption of the County budget under Section 5.5.4., no increase in the salaries or expansion of benefits of elected officials is effective without the approval of a majority plus one vote of the full Budget Committee.”

The Durham vote runs contrary to a non-binding voted conducted last month by the Board of Selectmen, and by the Lewiston City Council.

The issue is an outgrowth of a county budget dispute that pits the county commissioners against the budget committee, and has resulted in a lawsuit. Nearly all the municipalities in the county say that the commissioners set their own salaries and benefits without having the legal authority to do so.

Jeff Wakeman, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said when the board vote was taken on Oct. 27 that it is a question of whether the county commissioners can act alone on a budget that includes their salaries and benefits.

“We feel that the charter says the Budget Committee has the authority over the commissioners’ salary, and benefits,” Wakeman said. “The Budget Committee voted last year to cut commissioners’ salaries, then the commissoners restored them and put in higher salaries. The difference is $70,000-$80,000.”

The Lewiston City Council resolve, passed on Oct. 20, states in part: “The City Council hereby hereby expresses its concern that the process instituted by the County Commissioners for the County Budget Committee’s review of the proposed county budget will negatively impact the committee’s ability to review and exercise reasonable scrutiny over the proposed budget and will undermine the credibility of the overall budget process and final budget amongst the county’s cities and towns.”