The idea of merging Longview and Kelso may go to the public in a non-binding advisory vote on the November ballot.

The idea still must be approved by both city councils, but Cowlitz County Commissioner George Raiter said Monday that he and the mayors think it’s a good way to gauge public support for the idea. The vote would not decide the issue. Instead, the vote would let officials know if the matter is worth pursing, Raiter said.

“The mayors are supportive of it … but if the cities don’t think we should do this then we don’t want to put the time and energy into it,” Raiter said. “When you hear people passionate about something you don’t always hear from the silent majority, so we figured why not an advisory vote?”

“We’ve invested a lot of time and thought, and before we invest another chunk of resources and effort into it, it would be nice to know whether people are interested in seeing it happen,” said Kelso Mayor David Futcher.

Longview Mayor Kurt Anagnostou could not be reached Monday for comment.

Raiter said both mayors have told him they’d bring the idea of a vote before their city councils soon. Futcher expects to discuss the ballot idea with his council tonight.

A city merger was proposed in March when Raiter announced a series of government summits to help consolidate services and save costs. Mergers have been discussed before but have never taken hold. Even partial mergers of some departments eventually fell apart.

Raiter, Anagnostou and Futcher said part of the past failures was that the consolidation didn’t start at the top. A full city merger, they said, might be a better option and at least deserves more study.

That said, Raiter reiterated Monday that he supports merging only if a plan can be developed that would reduce overall costs or improve service.

Futcher said he’s interested in exploring the idea but wants “to hear what the people have to say.”

If both city councils approve of the advisory vote it will be placed on the November ballot. Because both cities already have items on the November ballot, the cost for adding one more item would be minimal, Raiter said.

Only Kelso or Longview residents would vote on the merger question.

So far, merging the cities has received little if any comment at two government summit meetings called to find ways to consolidate services and cut costs. Raiter said that led to the ballot idea because “we were running up against obstacles we knew we would” — such as resistance to change, hard feelings from previous merger attempts and concerns about different union contracts and pay scales within the two cities.

The advisory ballot is a way to keep the idea from getting stalled on those familiar hurdles, Raiter said.

Eventually, if merger talks continue, a binding vote of the people would be necessary to combine the two city governments. Such a vote would not combine school districts, which operate independently of the cities.