The Biddeford City Council was presented Tuesday with preliminary budget proposals from both the School Department and the acting city manager.
There were a lot of grim faces in the room after both acting City Manager Brian Phinney and School Superintendent Jeremy Ray reviewed their budget projections with the council.
Because of a technical glitch, Phinney was unable to provide detailed information regarding salaries, but said that information should be available by early next week.
Ray described the annual budget process as a “Superbowl event” for those who have to develop public budgets.
Much later in the meeting, Biddeford City Councilor Norm Belanger said he felt like he was being served “saltines and cauliflower” instead of chicken wings for this ‘Superbowl.”
The largest number of the evening came from the School Department, which is requesting an 11.6 percent increase over last year.
Though the city does not have its municipal budget finalized, Councilor Marc Lessard predicted a bleak outlook for the public and his fellow councilors.
Lessard, who has served on the council since 1993, said the upcoming budget review is going to be a “monumental task,” which will require plenty of pain and needed belt-tightening.
“The city council has never been able to shrink a budget request by more than two or three percent,” Lessard said. “Although we don’t yet have the numbers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a seven to eight percent increase [on the city side of the budget]”
According to Lessard, the city’s combined budgets (School and City) have increased by roughly 20 percent over the last three years.
“This may be the year when we zero fund some social services,” Lessard said.
The social service budget includes funding for non-municipal services and programs, including things such as the library, the Heart of Biddeford, the Biddeford Housing Authority, Seeds of Hope, La Kermesse and the Biddeford Mills Museum.
A few highlights and details
Supt. Ray gave the council an impassioned presentation, pointing out the biggest factor for the school budget was directly tied to dwindling reductions in state subsidies because of the city’s skyrocketing valuation.
“This is the real picture and it’s going to involve some tough conversations,” Ray said. “But I firmly believe that our conversation should be about what is right, not what is on the spreadsheet.”
Ray said the school department is “hanging on” with its proposed budget and operating with minimum staffing levels and supports for students.
While student enrollment has risen only risen slightly since last year, Ray said an increasing number of students are facing significant challenges, including food insecurity and homelessness.
“I firmly believe that our conversation
— School Supt. Jeremy Ray
should be about what is right,
not what is on the spreadsheet.”
Ray told the council that between 100 and 150 Biddeford students are homeless, and that the large majority of students are living in poverty.
“Roughly two-thirds of our kids are living below the federal poverty line,” Ray said.
Ray told councilors that the school department has also seen a spike in students who need English as a Second Language services, up more than 100 from last year’s total of 300 students needing those same services.
Ray said looming concerns about federal funding for education along with changes in state funding are creating an extraordinary set of challenges, asking councilors and members of the public to show support for two bills now being reviewed by the Maine Legislature.
LD 501 would slightly increase the weighted count in the school funding formula for economically disadvantaged students under the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act, from 0.15 to 0.25 beginning next year.
LD 193 would amend the school funding formula to provide an additional .50 weight to a school administrative unit’s per-pupil count for each student experiencing homelessness.
On the municipal side of the budget, Phinney said he and his staff are presenting a “needs-based” budget.”
Phinney listed five new positions including a deputy fire chief, a fire inspector and a part-time administrative assistant in the fire department. The Recreation Department is requesting a part-time custodian, and the Assessing Department is requesting a “field lister” position.
Of those five new positions, Phinney said he was only recommending the field lister position.
Phinney said the council may want to look at reducing staff and building operations for the city’s public-access television studio that is now located on Pool Street near the West Brook skating park.
The budget process will continue Thursday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. as the council hears directly from those requesting social service funding from the city, including City Theater, the My Place Teen Center, Caring Unlimited, Biddeford Community Gardens and several others.
Randy Seaver is the editor of the Biddeford Gazette, He can be reached at: randy@randyseaver.com
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