City Councilor Marc Lessard falls on his own sword by saying he is partly responsible for some of the city’s ongoing financial problems
By RANDY SEAVER, Editor
Tuesday’s meeting of the Biddeford City Council’s Finance Committee made one fact abundantly clear.
The city is still struggling to clean up the damage done over the last few years by a Finance Department that was beleaguered by rapid staff turnover and minimal supervision from city leaders.
“You can spread the blame around like peanut butter,” said City Councilor Marc Lessard during a telephone interview with the Gazette on Wednesday.
“But you know what?” Lessard stated. “I’m partly responsible for the problem.”
The city’s ongoing financial problems were raised again Tuesday evening when Finance Committee members took up the subject of how to pay for another state-mandated sewer update project.
The city is currently trying to catch-up on several of its long overdue financial audits. The city is now working to finalize the FY 2024 audit, now more than two years overdue.
The problem impacts the city in numerous ways, most notably preventing city departments from accessing bond funds that were approved by voters.
In November, voters approved a $20 million bond to complete long overdue sewer updates that are mandated by the state of Maine.
Last year’s major project on Elm Street was paid for from money in the city’s general fund versus an account that is replenished by sewer fee revenues.
That situation put Public Works Director Jeff Demers in an uncomfortable position. When he asked the former city manager about the lack of funds for the project, he was told to move forward and that funding for the project would come from another line item in the budget.
“I did what I was told,” Demers told the committee. “I took my marching orders, but I’ve lost sleep over it.”
Lessard – a member of the committee — asked how that decision to move funds around impacted other parts of the city’s budget.
“If we took $4.1 million from one part of the budget – roughly 5 percent of our budget – what item or work didn’t get funded?” Lessard asked.
City Manager Truc Dever said city staff is working overtime to sort out numerous issues that took place over the past few years, in addition to performing all of their current day-to-day responsibilities.
Although Mayor Liam LaFountain rang alarm bells about the situation, describing it as a “DEFCON 1 financial scenario,” he also offered at least one point for optimism during a follow-up conversation with the Gazette on Wednesday.
“We are doing everything possible to regain public trust and confidence in City Hall,” LaFountain said. “It’s nearly impossible to fix everything that took place over several years in just a few months.”
More importantly, LaFountain noted that the conversation – although difficult and somewhat concerning – took place in a public meeting with cameras rolling and members of the press in the room as opposed to “a couple guys meeting in an office behind closed doors.
LaFountain was able to oust former Mayor Marty Grohman in November by using a campaign pledge to bring “accountability and transparency” back to City Hall.
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“It’s nearly impossible to fix
all of these problems
in just a few months.”
— Mayor Liam LaFountain
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“It may not seem like it on the surface, but we are moving in the right direction,” LaFountain said. “It’s frustrating, but we now have the right people in place to help us in our overall course correction.”
Lessard said he was also feeling frustrated.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around,” he said. “And frankly part of that responsibility lies at my feet.”
Lessard – a veteran member of the council – said that, in retrospect, he should have pushed harder for accountability and transparency.
“There were many times when we allowed the former city manager and others to skirt, delay or obfuscate the issues,” he said. “That should not have happened, and I have to accept my own share of responsibility for that, even though that’s not what most politicians do.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He has been covering Biddeford news and politics for nearly three decades. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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We have been voting for and doing sewer separation for at least 20 years. WHEN is it done? How much have we spent totally and how many billions more before we DONE?
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Unfortunately, many of these projects were put off for years and decades, making them much more expensive and difficult to update. Over the last 20 years, the city has been nibbling at the edges of the problem, focusing on residential areas not close to the downtown. The downtown projects are much more problematic because of traffic and neighborhood density issues. There are still several projects remaining. We will work to get you more updated and accurate information as soon as possible. Thank you for reading.
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