I am a resident of Lewiston, and I am opposed to the proposed merger of my city with Auburn. I cannot even imagine the prospects of my tax dollars being spent to bail out Auburn’s enormous tax problems.

I keep reading about how the Joint Charter Commission received some $50,000 from Gov. Paul LePage’s administration to fund a report from a New York consulting group. Under what authority did the governor give that $50,000 of state taxpayers’ funds to a project that so many do not want to see happen, either in Auburn or Lewiston? Has the Sun Journal investigated how that was allowed to happen?

I really hope somebody takes a hard look behind the scenes at how that questionable appropriation was authorized. The state budget is in crisis and the governor is giving away $50,000 to be spent for a New York consultant’s report about a merger that has little support?

I hope others will join me in voting against the merger in November. The merger is a really, really bad idea.

Deb Hussey, Lewiston

Editor’s note: In 2015 Gov. Paul LePage offered $50,000 in a matching grant to the Joint Charter Commission, to be paid over two years, for professional, legal and financial reviews. The governor’s caveat was the group needs both Lewiston and Auburn City Councils to pass a resolution saying they support the charter commission — not its conclusions, but the study process. The Lewiston City Council voted its support 5-2;, Auburn by a vote of 4-3.