LEWISTON – A plan to get tax cap backers to review the city books will wait until August.

Councilors late Tuesday night backed off of City Administrator Jim Bennett’s plan to enlist the help of Lewiston residents to review the city’s finances and come up with a post-property-tax-cap budget.

Bennett, on vacation this week, didn’t attend the City Council meeting, and some councilors said they didn’t like the idea.

“I think it’s a gimmick, a scare tactic to get people out to vote,” Councilor Stavros Mendros said. “We, as city councilors, are responsible for our budget, and we’ve held the line. We don’t need scare tactics. We’ve done our part.”

Bennett and other Maine municipal officials maintain the 1 percent property tax cap on this November’s ballot will cripple local government. Cap supporters say the cities are exaggerating the effects of the tax cap. Bennett hoped to bring in cap supporters to find a way to balance the budget.

Bennett’s projections assume the worst-case scenario, that the city would get 1 percent of 1997 property values. That would be about $12.6 million. Androscoggin County takes its $2 million share, and another $7.4 million goes to pay the city’s debts. That leaves about $3.2 million to run the city and the schools. The city’s current budget calls for $40 million in property tax revenues.

Bennett wanted to have the group begin meeting in August and report back to the City Council in September.

Fearing Bennett’s plan would be defeated Tuesday night, Assistant City Administrator Phil Nadeau urged councilors to table the plan until Bennett could be there to defend it. A slim majority agreed, and shortly before midnight, the council tabled a vote on the plan until Aug. 10 – with Councilors Mendros, Renee Bernier and Bob Connors voting not to table.

Mendros said he’ll be in Greece in August.

“I’m elected to this council too, and I think I have a right to discuss it,” Mendros said. “It should be scheduled at time when I can be here.”

“Then perhaps you should find a way to make to the Aug. 10 meeting,” Mayor Lionel Guay said.

“Perhaps Mr. Bennett should have been here tonight,” Mendros responded.