Despite receiving a blistering and somewhat embarrassing report last week about the city’s financial controls and procedures, Biddeford officials are remaining tight-lipped about the abrupt departure of former city manager James Bennett.
In fact, Bennett has filed a civil complaint against the city in York County Superior Court.
During a public review of the city’s long overdue FY ’23 audit, accountants from Runyon, Kersteen and Ouellette (RKO) told the mayor and city council last week that they found “several serious deficiencies” in how the city handled its finances over the past two years.
Sarah Dodge – an accountant at RKO – told the council that her firm found an absence of cash reconciliations and what appeared to be mismanagement of federal grant money that was awarded to the city.
Although Dodge stressed that RKO found no evidence of fraudulent activity at City Hall, new questions are now being raised about Bennett’s performance and responsibilities.
“How can a city, run by a professional city manager, lack basic financial controls for critical financial management including an absence of cash reconciliation?” asked Biddeford resident Kathy Russell.
Russell was a city council candidate in 2017, and she says the auditor’s report should be a “wake-up call” for Mayor Marty Grohman and members of the city council.
“The taxpayers were providing Mr. Bennett with a very nice salary and benefits,” Russell said. “We expected that he would be responsible and transparent.”
After learning of the auditor’s report, Russell and many other residents are now asking why Bennett was abruptly removed from office nearly two months before his planned resignation date.
“We expected that he (Bennett)
— Kathy Russell
would be responsible and transparent.”
Bennett – hired by the city in 2015 – was facing increasing public pressure on a number of fronts, most notably about rapid employee turnover, including seven finance directors in a five-year-period at City Hall.
Bennett publicly announced his resignation in October last year. He said that he would “retire” on April 18. Bennett, however, was ousted from City Hall on February 20.
“I sure hope that we are not still paying Bennett for the remainder of his contract,” said Mark Poirier, another Biddeford resident.
Poirier said he was especially concerned about the city’s deficient cash reconciliation processes.
“I want to know how long this has been going on,” Poirier said. “Taxpayers have a right to know what’s really happening at City Hall.”
Mayor Marty Grohman said he understands the inquiries about Bennett, but said he is legally prohibited from answering specific questions about the city manager because of state and federal laws regarding personnel issues.
“The city is committed to transparency but must also follow the applicable law in regard to employment and legal matters,” Grohman said. “We appreciate the public’s interest, and we’ll share more as we are able.”
Grohman, however, did confirm the Gazette’s inquiry about whether Bennett has filed a lawsuit against the city.
“This matter is now before the court, and we are confident in the city’s position,” Grohman said. “There are relevant filings in York County Superior Court that are part of the public record.” (Docket No. YORSC-CV-2025-98).
“The city has submitted both an answer and a counterclaim for declaratory judgment in response,” Grohman said.
Although Bennett was dismissed from his City Hall office in February, Grohman said the city continued paying Bennett’s salary until April 18, the date of his effective resignation.
Brian Phinney, the city’s chief operating officer, has been serving as acting city manager since Feb. 20. Truc Dever will take over as the city’s full-time manager on Aug. 11.
Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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