OPINION | We need more people digging in for Biddeford

Constructive criticism is important and necessary in local government, but participation matters too.

By TAMMY BELANGER | Gazette Columnist

I want to take a moment to publicly acknowledge and thank our current Biddeford City Council, mayor, and city manager for the difficult and often thankless work they are doing for our city.

It has become very easy online to criticize every decision being made, but I think many people do not fully understand the scope of the challenges this administration inherited.

These individuals are working to clean up years of financial issues, overdue audits, operational instability, high turnover across multiple city departments and a growing distrust between residents and city government that did not happen overnight.

For years, difficult decisions were either delayed, poorly managed or pushed down the road.

We saw financial practices that lacked transparency, city assets and incentives handed out with questionable long-term benefit to taxpayers and major decisions made that many residents clearly did not support.

Those problems compound over time, and unfortunately, the effects do not disappear simply because new people are now sitting in those seats.

The current council, mayor, and city manager are tasked with stabilizing the city while maintaining services, supporting employees, managing public criticism, and preparing Biddeford for the future. That is not easy work.

“It has become very easy online
to criticize every decision being made,
but I think many people do not fully
understand the scope of the challenges
this administration inherited.”

I also think people forget that most of our councilors have full-time jobs and families of their own. They are not career politicians.

Our elected leaders spend countless hours outside of their normal workdays attending council meetings, budget workshops, committee meetings, reading reports, answering emails, speaking with residents, and serving as liaisons to multiple boards and committees — all for very modest compensation.

The amount of time they dedicate to this city is significant.

Our city manager also deserves recognition.

Regardless of where anyone stands politically, the administrative workload of addressing audits, staffing challenges, budget pressures, infrastructure needs and restoring organizational stability is enormous. That responsibility falls heavily on city administration and it deserves acknowledgment.

Do I think everything is perfect? Absolutely not.

I still believe property taxes are too high, and I know many residents are struggling financially. But it is also important to recognize that a significant portion of the financial burden we are experiencing today did not originate overnight.

Much of it is the result of years of previous decisions, obligations, spending patterns, and deferred problems that rolled forward into the budgets we are dealing with now.

Real change takes time. Trust takes time. Financial recovery takes time. None of this can realistically be fixed in a single budget cycle or election term.

Constructive criticism is important and necessary in local government, but participation matters too.

I would genuinely encourage more residents — especially those active online — to attend meetings, workshops and public hearings. Seeing the process firsthand often provides a much clearer understanding of just how complicated these issues really are.

At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: a strong, financially stable, transparent, and thriving Biddeford. That only happens when people stay engaged, informed, and willing to work together — even when opinions differ.

_____

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Tammy Belanger is a regular columnist for the Biddeford Gazette, covering City Hall and other public policy issues impacting the city. She is a longtime Biddeford resident, small business owner, photographer and dog lover. “I am a wife and a mother of three adults who were raised here. I care deeply about our community, and the people who live here,” she says.

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