As a member of the L-A joint services commission, I want to address an inaccurate statement made by Auburn City Manager Glenn Aho in the City section of the Jan. 29 Sun Journal. I am speaking for myself and not for the commission.

Mr. Aho is quoted as stating the commission “was overly formal and unfriendly to Auburn residents, and did not do enough to involve city administrators and residents.” That is untrue.

The commission maintained a Web site, held public, televised meetings and welcomed the mayors, councilors and residents of both cities to attend meetings and provide us with feedback. We provided an opportunity at every meeting for public comment.

Councilors and mayors from the two cities could choose whether or not to attend, but they were always welcome. Unfortunately, only a few citizens attended our meetings, but in no way were we or our processes ever “unfriendly to Auburn residents,” or Lewiston residents.

Regarding involving city administrators, Jim Bennett of Lewiston attended nearly every meeting and offered constructive comments. Mr. Aho often sat in the back of the room, disengaged and clearly uninterested in most of our discussions. That was his prerogative.

The ignored recommendation to consolidate assessing departments contained suggestions by Mr. Aho during his meetings with Mr. Bennett and our coordinator. To say that we did not do enough to involve city administrators is absolutely false; Mr. Aho was welcome and had ample opportunity to be actively involved in all of our discussions.

Ron Farris, Lewiston