LEWISTON — The results are in.

A study released Wednesday by the Lewiston and Auburn Joint Charter Commission says a merger of the Twin Cities could save at least $2.3 million a year, spurring economic development while creating the largest school department in the state. 

Charter commission leaders and representatives from consulting firm CGR, which prepared the study, announced the findings at a news conference Wednesday morning, and held a public hearing at The Dolard and Priscilla Gendron Franco Center on Wednesday night. 

Reactions on Wednesday night from a crowd of more than 100 ranged from optimism to clear opposition. Those in favor argued that residents in the Twin Cities should keep an open mind.   

Gene Geiger, Charter Commission chairman, said the savings from a merger would accumulate, topping $20 million after 10 years. He said the figures are based on recommendations from work groups that studied the city departments. He said the groups didn’t always settle on the option that would cut the most from the budget but instead on what would provide the best services. 

Joe Stefko, the CEO of CGR, said the 10-year property tax savings for an average home in Lewiston would equal near $1,900, with savings of about $1,100 in Auburn.

A summary of the study calls the estimates “realistic and conservative.” If cost-savings was the primary goal, Geiger said, the cities could see savings of $4.2 million a year. 

The commission is planning to put the proposal in front of voters in each city Nov. 7, in the form of a “Consolidation Agreement” that includes the new charter and lays out the transition process. 

Geiger said the study and recommendations are designed to provide a “vision and guide” for what could happen. If voters from both cities approve the measure, a 26-month transition process would take place. A transition task force made up of city officials and residents from each city would work to implement the findings. 

A new, 10-member City Council and mayor would lead the combined city beginning Jan. 2, 2020. 

During public comment Wednesday, Auburn City Councilor Robert Stone commended the consultants for their work but said the new council in 2020 would ultimately decide on the budget. 

“These savings might not be realized,” he said. “The council will do what they want.”

Fellow Councilor Andrew Titus said the cost-savings may be lower than the average resident expected, which will make the commission’s job more difficult to “get the word out” on the non-financial benefits of a merger.  

Geiger said during the news conference that efforts to work together in Lewiston and Auburn have splintered, especially in economic development. He said as other Maine cities are seeing economic growth, Lewiston and Auburn are stagnant.  

“If we decide to do things by ourselves, even though we’re one economic community, we’re going to be in double trouble when so much is working against us,” he said, referring to demographics, such as an aging population.  

Many in the Franco Center audience said they were optimistic of what the merger could bring but said they were concerned about how the information will be handed to the public in order for residents in both cities to make informed decisions. 

“I’m interested to see how we get people to make this enormous decision,” one resident said. 

The commission’s case for the merger includes the school system. If combined, the Lewiston and Auburn school system would surpass Portland’s as the largest in Maine. Geiger said this would present the city with opportunities to create more specialized programming.

“It will be a major part of the community conversation,” Stefko said of the combined school department. 

And yes, he said, both the Red Eddies and the Blue Devils would still exist. 

“There will still be that part of the community identity,” said Paul Bishop, an associate principal for CGR. 

Geiger said the school system could attract new families who relocate based on quality education. 

One thing yet to be determined, however, is what the new combined city would be called. Commission member Chip Morrison said the group plans to engage the public to come up with a name that works. He said the most popular options he’s heard so far are Lewiston-Auburn, Auburn-Lewiston and Great Falls. 

Commission member Holly Lasagna said Wednesday’s meeting would be just “the beginning of the public process.” 

The 88-page study provides a line-by-line list of the estimated savings, including which key positions would be cut. In municipal government, for example, the work group-recommended savings option is $715,500, which includes the elimination of one city manager, a deputy administrator and other positions.

Public safety also highlights much of the proposed savings, accounting for some $1.1 million in the option chosen by the work groups. The report proposes eliminating one fire chief and deputy chief, a lieutenant and two firefighters, while also making one police chief a deputy chief. 

Bishop said the public safety model would result in less administration and more officers patrolling the streets. 

Skeptics in the crowd asked how the commission has proposed dealing with the collective bargaining agreements in both cities. Stefko said all union contracts must “run their course.” Bishop said eliminated positions would be done through attrition. 

The study has been a long time coming for the six-member charter commission, which was formed in 2014 with three elected members from each community.

Throughout the lengthy process, the merger discussion has received mixed support.

Elected officials from both cities have remained neutral, but in May 2016, the Auburn City Council passed a resolve to keep city staff from helping with the process. 

Members of an opposition group, the Coalition to Oppose Lewiston-Auburn Consolidation, were also in attendance Wednesday.

Coalition member Ron Potvin said previous discussions on a merger have wavered because of the potential for the school department to lose state revenue, while member Jan Byron said she was concerned about how the employee cuts would be handled. 

Stefko told the audience regarding school revenue, “we have no reason to believe any material revenue sources would be jeopardized or reduced.” 

In 2013, CGR facilitated a merger in Princeton, New Jersey, which according to Stefko and Geiger, has been deemed successful. Geiger said the city implemented about 80 percent of the recommendations made during that process. Stefko said the process used is largely the same but people have “different appetites for change.” 

He said it’s the commission’s job to lead the community in a “robust conversation.” 

Morrison said Wednesday that he knows many people identify with one community or the other, but the Lewiston-Auburn region has grown much closer over the past few decades.

“Even people who say, ‘We want two municipalities forever because that’s our history,’ recognize that this is one community, one economic unit,” he said. 

Geiger said the full report and findings will be posted on the commission’s website by Thursday. 

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The Lewiston and Auburn Joint Charter Commission’s full report on merging the two cities will be posted on the commission’s website by Thursday.