LEWISTON — A subcommittee of the Lewiston and Auburn city councils will aim to review and settle shared agency budgets in March.

Lewiston City Administrator Ed Barrett said the Joint Budget Committee would likely meet two or three times to review the budgets.

“We’re in the process of settling those dates now,” Barrett said.

The Lewiston and Auburn councils each voted Tuesday to create the subcommittee, made up of two councilors from each city. Auburn Ward 1 Councilor Tizz Crowley and Ward 3 Councilor Mary LaFontaine will represent their City Council.

Lewiston Ward 2 Councilor Donald D’Auteuil and Ward 7 Councilor Richard Desjardins will represent their council.

They’ll sit with Barrett, Auburn interim City Manager Don Gerrish and the cities’ finance directors as they review budget requests from agencies the cities share. The meetings will be scheduled in the late afternoons and will be open to the public.

The cities share responsibility for seven agencies that manage transportation, economic development and the arts. They are the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee, which operates the Citylink bus system; the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport; Great Falls TV; L/A Arts; L-A 911; the Androscoggin County Emergency Management Agency; and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.

In the past, the cities have convened a joint meeting of all members of their city councils to hear requests. The new process is meant to make it easier.

The committee will report back to their respective councils with budget recommendations.

staylor@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link