On June 10, citizens of Lewiston and Auburn will elect representatives to serve on a charter commission to draft a plan to merge the Twin Cities. This is the first step in a state law process to decide whether or not to merge. The final decision will be made by the voters, once the plan is complete.

Doing things together has been the keynote of the development of Lewiston and Auburn since the first damming of the Androscoggin River in 1808, and the first bridge in 1823. At that time the community was called Lewiston Falls Village. Most of it was on the Auburn side of the river. As early as 1849, Lewiston and Auburn achieved lower costs and better service by establishing a unified fire protection district.

Lewiston and Auburn have set the state standard by the quality and quantity of their sustained cooperative relationship. In the 1880s, the two cities formed the Lewiston-Auburn Railroad Corp., and established a common water supply, Lake Auburn.

After World War II, municipal cooperation increased markedly with the establishment of the Auburn-Lewiston Airport. The airport and the industrial park, located in Auburn, are the subject to what is believed to be the first tax sharing agreement in Maine. Lewiston contributed to the construction of the industrial park, and every year receives part of the tax revenues paid by Auburn park occupants.

The 1970s brought the formation of the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority; the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee; the 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system; and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, which has been instrumental in attracting or retaining thousands of new jobs and tens of millions of dollars of investment in Lewiston and Auburn.

Other examples of this persistent cooperative policy include: The Androscoggin Unified Emergency Management Agency; The Lake Auburn Watershed Commission; The Lewiston-Auburn Cable Advisory Committee; and the Charles Monty Hydro Project at Great Falls — another historic tax-sharing venture.

Almost every one of those cooperative ventures continues to date, because they work efficiently and cost effectively to serve citizens. By 2008, the amount spent on cooperative services was more than 10 percent of the combined non-school budgets of Lewiston and Auburn.

Millions have been saved and superior services have been enjoyed by our citizens as a result. Repeated studies commissioned by the two mayors and city councils have shown there is more saving and better service to be had by consolidating more municipal operations, or by merging the two cities.

Last year the Lewiston and Auburn city councils met and discussed whether or not to consider further cooperation. Councilors suggested the question be put to the voters.

The election of commission members will be June 10, which is primary Election Day. Independent voters are eligible to vote in the municipal election, and need not enroll in a party to cast their ballots.

The June 10 election is not to determine whether to merge the two cities, only to choose commissioners to draft a plan. If the plan is approved by the voters at a later election, the cities will merge.

If a merger is approved, it will affect us all for generations. The city councilors are right — the voters deserve to have a say on this important issue. On June 10, residents should vote for the candidates they think best qualified to serve, and then pay close attention to their work.

Bette Swett-Thibault,  Ronald Bissonnette and Peter Garcia are co-chairmen of the Citizens Commission of Lewiston-Auburn Cooperation.

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