LEWISTON – The city will ask legislators to tighten some General Assistance rules as a way to save state and city revenues.

Proposals would end situations in which people qualify for both federal aid and General Assistance, said GA Administrator Sue Charron.

For example, people who qualify for federal food stamps can also request food support from the city. The city has no choice but to grant the General Assistance, she said.

One proposal would tie General Assistance to food stamps. General Assistance would be used as a supplement for people who didn’t qualify for other aid, but people wouldn’t be able to double their benefits.

“When the economy gets tough and things get cut, General Assistance tries to be more than it’s intended to be,” Charron said. “This proposal here is not to hurt anybody, but to close some of the loopholes.”

The city is required by the state to pay General Assistance to help people buy food, pay for heating oil or rent or repair cars. Once the city has paid that money out, the state reimburses the city for half of it.

Charron said the city would also like the state to adopt a residence limit for people who move to a new community. They would have to wait 120 days before applying for General Assistance if they abandoned government aid of some kind somewhere else, whether it was another Maine city or another state.

Councilors liked that idea.

“It seems that Lewiston is the dumping ground for every other community,” Councilor Denis Theriault said. “I would rather we take care of our own people first.”

Another proposal would limit General Assistance benefits for renters who get a credit through the state’s Property Tax Refund program.

“If they get a benefit from that program, they should use it for life and health, food and shelter” Charron said. “It doesn’t seem fair that they should be able to use it on anything they want.”

City Administrator Jim Bennett said his office would present the proposals to Lewiston’s legislative delegates.

“There will be opposition to this,” he said. “But we are expecting the governor’s budget this week and it will likely have many cuts. We think the cuts here would be less drastic than any the governor might propose and wouldn’t hurt anybody.”