When a politician wants to dress up a course of action for the voter, a common tool is to offer spectacular cost savings as a sweetener. Everyone tends to pay attention. The Joint Charter Commission and its newly announced political arm are running around Lewiston-Auburn talking projected cost savings of some $2.5 to $4 million […]
Lewiston Auburn merger
Posted inLetters
Webber might learn something
I read with amusement Auburn attorney Curtis Webber’s condescending letter (March 25) in support of the merger of Lewiston and Auburn. The merger might be great for the lawyers who would charge hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to draft a charter for the new city and implement a new merged government. For […]
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Posted inLetters, sj-web
Merger a foolish idea
The proposed merger of Lewiston and Auburn is a silly idea. First of all, what would happen to all the streets that have the same names? Maps and GPS systems would have to change. At what cost? I don’t know how many people have printed address labels, but those would become useless. The labels are […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Against city merger
Auburn is in the battle of its life because of the proposal to merge the cities of Lewiston and Auburn. Does anyone really think it will lower taxes? Merging the cities of Auburn and Lewiston will not save anyone on taxes. Just look at the cost of the welfare program in Lewiston. The Charter Commission […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Make city government more efficient
There are few guarantees in life, but if you are sure you cannot do something, you are right. Our vocal opposition was sure that merging Lewiston and Auburn won’t work even before we got organized. The glass they hold is always half-empty. Clearly, the Lewiston and Auburn Joint Charter Commission has been conditional with words […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Consolidation example works
I read with great interest the guest column, “Charter Commission short on facts,” by Lewiston City Councilor Shane Bouchard (Feb. 5). Because I was the chairman of the Princeton Consolidation and Shared Services Study Commission from its launch in 2010 to the completion of its work in 2013, I am especially interested in the councilor’s comments. […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Merger is a crazy idea
I am a proud resident of Auburn. I grew up in this great city. My family has lived here for generations. I have worked and raised children here. It is with great sadness that I watch a small group of businessmen from the local Chamber of Commerce doing everything they can to do away with […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Joint Charter Commission’s presentation was short of facts
I recently joined about 100 other residents at the Franco Center in Lewiston to listen to the Lewiston-Auburn Joint Charter Commission present its findings about merging our two great cities. As a Lewiston City Councilor and a member of the Coalition Opposed to Lewiston-Auburn Consolidation, I worry that what was presented at the meeting may […]
Posted inLetters
Merger idea should go away
Eugene Geiger, chairman of the Lewiston-Auburn Joint Charter Commission, recently said in the Sun Journal that he was going to invite the public to select the name of the new merged city. He was quoted as saying, “We’re just letting people type in what they want and then, whether we’ve gotten five or 500 suggestions, […]
Posted inLetters
Can make up own mind about merger
I read with curiosity Jim Wellehan’s guest column (July 3), in which he compares opposition to a Lewiston-Auburn merger to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. That is a bizarre claim that is a very tenuous stretch, to say the least. First of all, the world economy has not gone into “freefall” since […]