AUBURN – Efforts to get the Twin Cities to cooperate need to stay above local politics, Auburn Mayor Normand Guay said.

Guay and his brother, Lewiston Mayor Lionel Guay, will ask both city councils tonight to support a nine-month study looking for things the two cities can do jointly. On Monday, Normand Guay told Auburn councilors he’d be looking for their support at the joint Lewiston-Auburn councils meeting.

“This is not a council initiative,” Guay said. “This is a mayors’ initiative, and we want it that way to keep it non-political. It’s not about any councilor. It’s not about staff. It’s about finding ways Lewiston and Auburn can work together.”

The joint council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. in the Lewiston City Council Chambers. It will be broadcast live on Great Falls TV.

The mayors announced their plans almost two weeks ago. They want to convene a 10-member committee to review both cities’ municipal services, looking for departments that could be combined. They expect a report back from the panel in nine months.

Guay said Monday he is still not ready to release the names of the people who would serve on the committee.

“We’re still discussing it with some of them,” Guay said.

They are well-known names, he promised.

“When you see the names, I think everyone will be impressed,” he said.

Councilor Belinda Gerry did criticize the mayor for not bringing councilors in sooner.

“We didn’t talk about this beforehand, and then – whammo! – out of the blue, I see it in the paper,” Gerry said.

Guay said it was all part of trying to keep the effort from becoming political. Tonight’s meeting will be led by local attorney Peter Garcia, who participated in a similar study eight years ago, Guay said.

“One of the things Peter said is that things could have been done in the past,” Guay said. “But they weren’t because of people’s ego. That’s why we’re trying to do this, to make sure people work for what’s best for the community and not just for their ego.”