AUGUSTA — In response to requests from the mayors of Lewiston and Auburn, legislators adopted a measure Tuesday that will make it tougher for Maine municipalities to merge.

“Hopefully, with this new step, other communities can avoid unnecessary heartache and expense on merger proposals that lack community support,” Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, said Tuesday.

The most important change sought in the bill is to require a referendum in each town considering a merger before much work is done to implement the idea.

“The initial referendum will provide an assessment of the public’s willingness to consider consolidation. If there is no public support, the effort won’t go forward,” Rick McCarthy of the Mayors Coalition on Jobs and Economic Development told legislators.

If Gov. Paul LePage signs the bill, the measure would make it nearly impossible to merge Lewiston and Auburn anytime soon. Voters overwhelmingly killed a plan to combine the two municipalities last fall.

The leaders of Lewiston and Auburn sought the legislation to make sure they would not have to go through the expense and effort of considering a merger again unless residents backed the idea. Brakey introduced the bill.

Under existing law, the only time residents get to vote on a merger is after the details of one have been worked out by a joint charter commission, a complex and costly process that begins with gathering 1,000 signatures.

McCarthy, whose group represents 10 cities and towns, said the signatures represent “a decent measure of interest” in a merger among residents, but it is a far cry from a majority of the people who live in the municipalities involved. He said a public vote at the start of the process would ensure that the consolidation discussion is “worth pursuing.”

The bill approved by a legislative committee changes the number of signatures needed to 10 percent of the number of votes cast in each town in the last gubernatorial election, or 1,000 in larger communities unless there is a charter requirement for more.

The bill also requires proponents of a merger to wait at least six years before they try again, except for a narrowly crafted exception. Current law allows them to pursue the proposal every three years.

Brakey has said the changes would prevent situations from occurring in which a small minority of voters could gather enough signatures to propose a merger that does not actually have much support in both communities.

Even if voters agree to pursue a merger, they are not bound to follow through on it. Another referendum is required at the end of a consolidation process before it would take effect.

It has been a long time since two Maine municipalities have merged. The last successful effort took place in 1922, creating Dover-Foxcroft.

scollins@sunjournal.com

Signs supporting or opposing the proposed merger of Lewiston and Auburn last year. (Sun Journal file photo)

Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, pushed through a measure to make it more difficult to begin a merger process between two municipalities. (Photo provided)

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