AUGUSTA -- A group fighting a proposed merger between an Augusta-based credit union and a local bank is hoping to take a peek at credit union records that might show the reasons behind the institution's decision to merge.

More than 180 KV Federal Credit Union members have signed a petition that merger opponents plan to deliver to credit union managers on Friday, said member Lucille Cloutier.

The members are requesting access to minutes from board meetings over the past few years, Cloutier said, from the time board members began weighing a merger with Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank.

The petition for access to records is the latest action from members and others opposed to the proposal.

To merge, the credit union first must convert to a federally chartered savings bank. But the conversion and merger ultimately require approval by credit union members.

"We want to see how much background work did they do," Cloutier said. "For what reason did they pick the bank?"

Credit union members can gain access to their credit union's records by collecting signatures from 1 percent of the membership, according to National Credit Union Administration regulations.

KV Federal Credit Union has approximately 8,000 members. A petition would need 80 member signatures.

The credit union managers must respond to the records request within 14 days of receiving the petition, according to the federal regulations.

If managers deem the records confidential, they can deny access to them. They can also deny the request if they find enough signatures are not valid.

KV Federal Credit Union President Beverly Beaucage said the credit union will follow federal regulations in responding to the member petition.

"We invite our members to come in and review those regulations and review those minutes," she said. "If there's something in the minutes that would even approach a breach of confidentiality, we could certainly not provide that information."

Cloutier said she and other members want to know why KV Federal Credit Union directors decided a merger was necessary.

They also want to know why directors decided on a merger with a bank, rather than another credit union.

"We want to find out how they arrived at that decision," Cloutier said. "I'm sure they didn't do this lightly. At least we hope not."

When she first announced merger plans in September, Beaucage said the move would better position KV Federal Credit Union for future growth.

She said the credit union is in sound financial shape.

The proposal to combine a credit union and a bank is the first of its kind in Maine and one of only 15 examples nationally in which a bank and credit union have combined or are in the process of combining.

Alan Theriault, president of Portland-based CU Financial Services, said member requests to inspect records are "not very common" but are among the tactics open to opponents of credit union conversions.

"Their aim is to try to muddy the waters as much as they can in the mind of the membership," said Theriault, whose firm has assisted credit union conversions to banks. "By going in the minutes, they're just pushing for some piece of data that they can use to claim the merger is based more on a personal reason than a strategic reason."

Cloutier, however, said nothing personal is involved.

"This is not a vendetta; this is one of the steps we have to make," she said. "(Members are) feeling very passionate about their credit union."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com