LEWISTON — Councilors didn’t trim any shared agency budgets Tuesday night, but they signaled that service groups could expect a little more scrutiny.
Councilors from both Lewiston and Auburn, a subcommittee reviewing shared agency spending, didn’t call for cuts to any of the six agencies they’ve reviewed — the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, Great Falls TV, Lewiston-Auburn 911, the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee, L/A Arts and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.
The recommended full funding for those agencies represent $1,636,1203 in spending for Lewiston and $1,612,296 for Auburn.
They’ll take those recommendations back to their individual councils for final votes. But that funding came with some caveats. Councilors from both cities agreed to tie funding for L/A Arts — $23,960 from Lewiston and $20,160 from Auburn — to the city councils getting voting members appointed to the group’s board of directors.
Councilors didn’t agree on funding for the Growth Council. Auburn Councilor Tizz Crowley argued for cuts to Growth Council administration and marketing budgets. She also wanted strict cost accounting from the group — how much time each employee spends doing any given task. Executive Director Lucien Gosselin said that’s not the way his five-member staff operates.
“These people just don’t do one job,” he said. “In 31 years, we’ve never kept time sheets of how people spent their time. It’s just too time consuming.”
Crowley couldn’t convince the three other members — Auburn’s Mary Lafontaine and Lewiston councilors Don D’Auteuil and Richard Desjardins — and they recommended full funding by a 3-1 vote.
The councilors called for full funding for the airport’s $210,000 budget shared equally. But they cut $10,000 in capital spending destined to pay the local share for an environmental study of lengthening the airports main runway.
Airport Manager Rick Cloutier said the airport could pay for that study out of fund balances.
Some agencies actually received more than they first proposed. Councilors approved spending an additional $11,577 per city to increase bus service on Saturdays. Phil Nadeau, chairman of the LATC board, said that won’t pay for full routes on Saturday but it will cover the cost of some increases.
Councilors also increased the budget for Lewiston-Auburn 911 by $900 to pay for new chairs. But Councilor Crowley said she and Auburn councilors would like to see that budget divided based on 911 call volume. Lewiston has a higher number of calls to the center.
“I know that there is some base administrative cost that is paid equally,” Crowley said. “But knowing that one city has a substantial number of calls more than the others, I think next year’s plan needs to recognize that.”
Summary of Jointly Funded Agency reccomendations
| Agency | Lewiston | Auburn |
| Auburn-Lewiston Airport | $105,000 | $105,000 |
| L/A Arts | $23,960 | $20,160 |
| Great Falls TV | $75,024 | $55,000 |
| L/A Transit Committee | $235,618 | $235,618 |
| Lewiston-Auburn 911 | $1,035,831 | $1,035,831 |
| Lewiston-Auburn Econ. Growth Council | $160,687 | $160,687 |
| $1,636,120 | $1,612,296 |
Source: Cities of Lewiston and Auburn
FY 2013 Joint Agency Budget, Lewiston and Auburn, Maine
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