As many as 400 people in Lewiston and Auburn will be asked this summer if they want the cities to combine police, fire or public works services.

“That should give us the people’s pulse, whether they like their government services now or they want more cooperation,” said Bob Clifford, co-chairman of the Mayors’ Commission on Joint Cooperation.

The commission has interviewed municipal staff and city councilors from Lewiston and Auburn, looking for ways to combine services and trim budgets.

“We’ve gathered a lot of information so far, but we really need to know where the community stands,” Clifford said. “We hope to learn if citizens feel Lewiston-Auburn is one big community and if they even want to share services.”

The group picked up a $45,000 grant in March to hire Hallowell-based Planning Decisions, a research group that specializes in consolidating government services. Vice President Frank O’Hara said the firm will take information the commissioners have already gathered and combine it with the results from the survey. He expects to issue a draft report on possible budget savings in July.