Given the animus that once existed between Lewiston and Auburn, the results of a survey conducted earlier this summer to gauge interest in combining some city services is refreshing.

Old stereotypes and divisions between the two municipalities appear to be fading. Talk to longtime residents, and it doesn’t take a lot of badgering to hear how much better things are today than they have been. The stories of people who refused to cross the Androscoggin River used to be legion. Today, those tales are much less common and often are followed by a good-natured smile – prompted more by civic pride than any hard feelings.

While Twin Cities’ residents aren’t prepared to do away with the distinctions between their hometowns, there’s majority support for more cooperation. And while we fully expected to see support for so-called backroom services, like accounting and human resources, we were surprised at the support for combining core, identifiable services.

Sixty-five percent of respondents said they would like to see economic development consolidated. Amazingly, 57 percent advocated for combining the police departments and 54 percent said the same thing about the fire departments. Considering that the police and fire departments – along with public works – are the most visible sign of a jurisdiction, the majority support tells us that the era of competition between the two cities has largely passed.

And while only about 40 percent of respondents supported creating a single school district, even that number shows a changed attitude.

Undoubtedly, cooperation has improved under the leadership of brothers Lionel and Normand Guay, who serve as the mayors of Lewiston and Auburn, respectively, and by demands from taxpayers looking for ways to reduce the property tax burden.

As individual proposals develop for consolidation and further cooperation, the numbers could move all over the place. Talking about one fire department might sound a lot better before individual stations are considered for closure, for example.

A survey is just a snapshot of opinions at a given time, but the picture from June is encouraging.