POLAND — Faced with two interpretations of state law as it pertains to investments by municipalities, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday held off taking action on the town’s proposed investment policy.

Selectmen had asked the town’s attorney, Ronald Epstein of Jensen, Baird, Gardner and Henry in Portland, to prepare an investment policy to give the board and future boards consistent and legal guidelines for how investments should be handled.

In addition to managing a municipality’s usual range of investments, the Poland board also is responsible for handling trust funds associated with the town’s Ricker Memorial Library.

The town has hired H.M. Payson and Co. to assist in managing the town’s investments, and lawyers at H.M. Payson differ from Epstein on interpretations of how state law should apply.

“What we have here are two attorneys and two interpretations. The question is how to reconcile,” Town Manager Bradley Plante said. “The board has to decide which to follow.”

Selectman Steve Robinson said it was pretty near impossible to figure out what the differences were and what the implications of the two interpretations might be.

He suggested the board sit down separately with the two sides and get a “Reader’s Digest” version from both parties.

Selectman Walter Gallagher pointed out that the board had spent a considerable amount already and such a sit down would only add to the cost.

Gallagher suggested that the board go with the opinion of the town’s attorney and allow the policy to stand as presented with H.M. Payson following the guidelines set therein.

Selectman Janice Kimball said she’d like to know what the gist of the disagreement was.

Selectman Jim Walker agreed with Gallagher that the board ought to trust the town attorney and that it also had an obligation the investments.

Walker said he supported sending Plante to Portland to talk with the town’s attorney and come back with an explanation “so we can understand what’s going on.”

Plante agreed to go to Portland and, to keep the bill down, said he would give it “no more than an hour, and I’ll take my stopwatch along.”

In other business, the board presented Poland’s 2014 Spirit of America Award to Boy Scout Troop 125 for their dedicated service to the town.

The board also made a number of appointments to town boards, including Donald Stover to the Conservation Commission, Arthur Berry to the Community Economic Development Committee, Dawn Dyer and William Foster to the Planning Board and Pat Nash to the Comprehensive Plan Committee, all for three-year terms. The board called the public’s attention to remaining vacancies on town committees, including two regular and two alternate seats on the Appeals Board, one regular and two alternate seats on the Planning Board, two vacancies on the Scholarship Committee and four vacancies on the Comprehensive Plan Committee.

Following a brief discussion the board decided to take no action to establish a local fireworks ordinance, opting to rely on the state’s regulations for their use and control.