If there’s money to be saved, they’ll take it.

Councilors in Lewiston and Auburn agree that they’ll step forward if there are true savings for both cities that can be obtained by sharing services.

But that’s about all they agree on.

For some, those savings are outlined in the Citizens Commission on Lewiston-Auburn Consolidation. Others doubt that report has the answers they need. Others still think sharing efforts need to expand beyond Lewiston and Auburn, to include Greene, Poland, Minot, Lisbon and Turner.

And most agree that someone needs to step forward to lead the joint services effort. But nobody’s volunteering – not yet, anyway.

“Everyone seems to have one idea they like, and they’re not interested in anything else,” Lewiston Councilor Bob Reed said. “It seems like everyone now is just waiting for someone else to make the first move.”

There’s been talk about sharing services between the Twin Cities as far back as 1975, when officials cooperated in a University of Maine intercity study project. Since then, the two cities have combined to manage an airport, created a joint economic development agency, a 911 emergency dispatch service, and advocacy groups.

But talk about joint services really took off in 2004, when then-mayors Normand and Lionel Guay of Auburn and Lewiston, respectively, formed a commission to push sharing services. The mayors’ group released a feasibility report on 2006 and a second group, the citizen’s commission, was asked to come up with more specific recommendations.

Their report, filed last January, called for $1.7 million in savings. Those were upgraded this summer, when city audits showed potential savings of $2.7 million. A review in October by two consolidation skeptics gave their work a boost. Lewiston’s Reed, who originally doubted the report’s accuracy, said he was convinced after a face-to-face meeting with commission members. Auburn Councilor Ron Potvin said then that savings were achievable.

Potvin said he still feels the numbers are there.

“But we need some sort of a framework to make things happen,” Potvin said. “The problem we have now is that every time someone recommends something, the first question is ‘who’s in charge?’ We have to answer that, or else we end up with a power struggle.”

Auburn Councilor Mike Farrell agreed.

“We just can’t seem to put one foot in front of the other,” Farrell said. “I think people are afraid of failure, of coming forward and doing something and screwing something up. Nobody wants to be associated with that kind of failure.”

But Lewiston Councilor Tina Bailey was more upbeat.

“We just need to see the savings,” she said. “When I see them, I’ll be behind it just like that.”

Skeptical of savings

Lewiston Councilor Denis Theriault said he’s not so sure.

“But if something was really that hot, and it had that much appeal, I can’t believe someone in the city wouldn’t have looked at it closely by now,” Theriault said. “At times, it looks like we’re working harder trying to consolidate services overall, than trying to find something that just works.”

Lewiston Councilor Nelson Peters agreed.

“I think some people are just in favor of consolidations because it sounds good,” he said. “That bothers me. Just because you combine things doesn’t mean its cheaper, or better. We need to watch that.”

Auburn Councilor Dan Herrick agreed. He’s not convinced that the $2.7 million in savings identified by the commission are real.

“It still hasn’t been proven to me that there can be savings,” Herrick said. “Nothing has come forward that has enough bite that I can accept.”

And Herrick said there is still a question of who leads the effort.

“Nothing on this will ever be done until both councils sit down together, one on one – no managers, no newspapers, no commissions – and just talk,” he said.

Lewiston Councilor Larry Poulin said he thinks it can work.

“In my mind, the ultimate criteria for any consolidation efforts is that there has to be savings, or services have to improve,” Poulin said. “My personal wish is that we could move forward. But it’s a policy decision that must be made by both councils. We need consensus on both sides of the river, and we don’t have it.”

Lewiston Councilor Betty Dube said she backs the commission’s report and wants to see it happen.

“I have no reason to believe that what they say is not valid,” she said. “Their work should be looked at seriously, and I think that’s what the citizens of both city are expecting.”

And Auburn Councilor Ray Berube said he thinks it can work, but the cities are not ready.

“Auburn has to get its house in order, Lewiston to get its in order and then we can talk,” Berube said. “You have to look and see where they are at the present time. If they’re not compatible or efficient, they need to be fixed. At some point, they can be made to work together.”