Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis was one of 15 members unanimously confirmed to serve on an oversight committee for the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Action Plan.

The Metropolitan King County Council made the confirmations official this week.

Lewis, who was elected mayor in 2002 after serving four years on the Auburn City Council, is a member of the South King County Human Services Forum and a board member of the Suburban Cities Association.

The panel will oversee programs and services to be funded under the plan, such as the investment of public money for the diversion of the mentally ill and chemically dependent from jails and emergency rooms.

“We have limited funds for new treatment programs, and this panel will help us measure if we are successfully promoting recovery and lowering unnecessary and costly involvement in the criminal justice and emergency medical systems,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, chair of the Council’s Operating Budget Committee that is overseeing the implementation of the action plan.