An assessor’s department operated by Androscoggin County deserves to be considered, Lewiston and Auburn officials say.

Auburn’s City Council voted unanimously Monday to ask the Citizens Commission on Joint Lewiston Auburn Cooperation to review plans for combining the assessing departments from both cities and letting Androscoggin County have control of the function.

“We’ve discussed it more than once, at least a couple of times, and we’ve said before it’s worth looking into further,” Mayor John Jenkins said. “But now we’ve done something more formal.”

Lewiston councilors agreed to review the idea in March.

Lewiston Council President Tom Peters said he hopes the discussion can reinvigorate efforts to consolidate services between Lewiston and Auburn.

“I think this could very easily save some money for both cities with little or no upfront cost to either one,” Peters said. “I think it will involve smaller communities in the county that might be interested in the service.”

Peters said he was talking privately with Auburn Councilors Dan Herrick and Mike Farrell last month when the idea came up. It would allow both cities to give assessing responsibilities to the county government. The assessing departments appraise property values, especially real estate values. Those values are used to determine property taxes for homes and businesses, as well as state aid for education, sales tax revenue distribution, and county taxes paid by each city.

“If this succeeds, I think it’ll be a win all around for everyone – in both cities and the county,” Peters said. “If we can win here, maybe people will be willing to look at some next steps.”