Problems with merging Twin Cities

Here we go again. Many years ago, nearly to the day, I responded to an editorial regarding consolidation of the Twin Cities.

A while later, it was reported that some person from “outside” was hired to do a study. I never heard any more about that study. How much of the taxpayers’ money was wasted?

I have many questions about merging the Twin Cities. Will there be a city manager or a city administrator? Which mayor would preside over the new city? Will the number of councilors be equal?

Will there be parity in the salary structure? (Lewiston employees earn more than Auburn employees, on average).

Union contracts alone will be a nightmare, with both cities on different retirement programs, which would result in significant cost factors to buy into earlier retirement plans.

Will there be a Public Safety Commissioner? If so, who decides which chief takes that position, or will the job go to someone from “outside?”

Will the merged city be called Lewiston/Auburn or Auburn/Lewiston? And, yes, that sounds silly, but wait and see what comes out of a power struggle.

What would happen with the school departments? That hasn’t been made clear. The major portion of expenditures for both cities, with major waste in top administration salaries, should require a lot of attention.

I see financial savings in the consolidation of the data processing and record keeping, purchasing and health care plans, but that’s it.

Robert Tiner, Poland