AUBURN — Community members have started looking for help financing work on a proposed combined Lewiston-Auburn City Charter.
Charter Commission member Chip Morrison said a group of volunteers has started looking for community and regional financial support to pay legal and administrative costs the charter will require.
Morrison said he expects the charter effort will cost between $60,000 and $100,000.
“And my guess is, it’ll be closer to the higher number,” Morrison said.
Twin Cities voters selected six charter commissioners in June 2014, three from Auburn and three from Lewiston.
The commission began working in July to draft a foundation document combining Lewiston and Auburn into one city. The group has no deadline, no funding, no staff and whatever plans they come up with go the public for debate and eventual vote.
Morrison said one of his tasks has been finding a way to pay for the eventual legal costs.
“There are lots of community people who are interested in this, and we will be able to get support from them,” he said.
Two groups that will never be asked for financial support are the Lewiston and Auburn city councils, he said.
“We will never do that,” he said. “Period. Never. We will talk to councilors and we need to get as much input as we can, but we cannot ask them for money. That’s not their role.”
They might be asked to support the effort, however. The group has also presented its ideas to Gov. Paul LePage.
Commission members have been reviewing Auburn, Lewiston and model charters, picking out potentially contentious issues that demand deeper debate. Those include the role of the mayor, the number and location of city wards, schools and financial issues.
The current plan is to put the matter before voters in November 2016. A rough draft could be sent of lawyers for legal review by the end of year.
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