LEWISTON — An effort to combine city services in Lewiston and Auburn might have become too political to work, according to one Auburn official.
“I always felt so much pressure as city councilor, coming from this commission,” Auburn Councilor Ron Potvin said. “It didn’t seem like there was much room for discussion once it got to the council level, like there was so much pressure to make this happen it was difficult for the elected officials to have their say.”
Members of the Citizens Commission on Lewiston-Auburn Cooperation met Thursday morning in Lewiston City Hall to adopt their final report, a 20-page document plus a roughly 1,000 page appendix.
Members of the commission agree that it’s time for them to wrap up their work and leave it to elected officials, according to the report. In a section titled “Lessons Learned,” members put the responsibility for future consolidation efforts squarely on the two cities.
“Change is difficult. Change proposed by nonelected commission members is more difficult,” the report states.
The report pointed to real savings totalling $2.7 million shared by the two cities.
The entire report, including the appendices, will be posted to both cities’ Web sites. It includes the first official consolidation study, 1996’s L-A Together as well as newspaper stories from last week.
The final report will be sent to the state, as well as Lewiston and Auburn councilors.
“It’s important that all of this work endures,” Co-chairman Bette Swett-Thibault said. “They need to pay attention to this report, to use it as a template for future work.”
The group released a preliminary report in December urging the cities to adopt a shared software suite for back-office operations. That would include planning and permitting software.
Councilors from both cities heard a pitch from staff last week for just that kind of software. The suite, made by Georgia-based company Energov Solutions, would improve services to contractors and citizens and make the city more efficient. It would also let the city share planning and inspection staff more efficiently.
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