City council chooses legal status quo

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

Despite contemplating the creation of an ‘in-house” legal department at City Hall, the Biddeford City Council voted unanimously on June 16 to retain Harry B. Center of the law firm Woodman, Edmands as city solicitor for another year.

Shortly after being elected in November, Mayor Liam LaFountain floated the idea of breaking with tradition and hiring an “in-house” attorney to guide and support the city’s legal needs.

**ATTORNEY HARRY CENTER** will serve as Biddeford’s chief legal counsel for another year | *File Photo*

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Center has served as the city’s chief legal counsel on and off for more than 30 years. Shortly after graduating from law school, Center was appointed as city solicitor by the late Mayor Roger Normand in 1992.

LaFountain said the city’s council’s personnel committee has been studying the issue but has not yet made any recommendations.

When first proposing the idea of replacing Center with an in-house lawyer last year, LaFountain said it is an idea worth consideration and rigorous evaluation.

“It’s just a matter of what makes the best overall sense for the city,” LaFountain told the Gazette in December. “We are in a transition period, and this may be the exact time to consider making a change in how we handle our legal services.”

In a December memo to the council, LaFountain pointed out that Biddeford is entering “a period of increased legal activity across land use, development agreements, personnel matters, and policy implementation.”

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Flash forward six months and city leaders seem content to maintain the status quo when it comes to legal representation.

Center said he was honored to once again be nominated as city solicitor.

“As many of you know, this is my hometown, and I always do my best to represent this city and its interests,” Center said, pointing out that his law firm includes a staff of 20 people located almost directly across the street from City Hall.

Center also took the opportunity to acknowledge one of his firm’s associates, Seth Perruzza, an attorney who has been assigned to handle a bulk of the city’s legal work in research and administrative tasks.

Center bills the city a steeply discounted rate of $255 per hour — only for time worked directly for the city. He receives no other city benefits.

Some members of the council have raised concerns that hiring an in-house attorney would become much more expensive when considering salary, benefits, support staff and the creation of a new office.

Over the years, Center has served under six mayors (Normand, Grattelo, Dion, Casavant, Grohman).

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