AUBURN – Sharing a top manager with Lewiston is a bad idea, at least to members of two local taxpayer groups.

Representatives of the Small Property Owners of Auburn and the United Citizens of Auburn presented a letter to city councilors Monday urging them not to hire Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett to replace Pat Finnigan, who stepped down last month.

“We understand that there is a vacancy in the city’s manager’s position, as well as an opportunity for possible consolidation and cost savings,” said Ron Potvin, a member of the Small Property Owners group. “However, at the same time, we believe that the consolidation committee’s recommendation for sharing one city manager without fully addressing the positive and negative points is irresponsible.”

City Councilor Dick Gleason assured them that the city wasn’t rushing into any decision.

“We are talking about things, and publicly,” Gleason said. “All we are doing now is discussing our options.”

Members of the Citizens Commission on Joint Lewiston-Auburn Cooperation voted in May to urge both city councils to discuss the possibility of sharing a top administrator. The commission was formed earlier this year to begin combining some city services.

But Gleason, the Auburn City Council’s representative to that group, said the commission does not determine Auburn policies. The city is hiring an executive search firm to help find Finnigan’s successor, and plans to meet with their Lewiston counterparts in August to discuss the matter.

Mayor John Jenkins said he plans to address the commission at its meeting Thursday. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Business Service Center at KeyBank Plaza, 415 Lisbon St.

“I’m going there to explain the city’s position,” Jenkins said.

Ed Desgrosseilliers, president of the United Citizens of Auburn, urged the commission to be more open. It should meet at times that are more accessible to Auburn residents, and all of their meetings should be shown on cable access television, he said.

“No consolidation of the cities’ services can ever be effective without the support and involvement of its citizens,” Desgrosseilliers said. “Consolidation, just like municipal government, requires a highly participatory process of its citizens.”

The commission meets every fourth Thursday in the service center building in Lewiston. Meetings alternate from month to month between mornings and evenings. The Aug. 23 meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m.