OPINION | Biddeford Deserves Better Than a Revolving Door

Conducting the search for our next city manager must be done the right way and is critical to our community’s long-term success.

By SCOTT THIBEAU | Biddeford

Biddeford is a city that has earned the right to dream big.

Over the past two decades, I have watched this community transform itself from a struggling post-industrial town into one of the most exciting small cities in New England.

I have seen it happen from every angle — as a civic leader working to revitalize our downtown, as an owner of a childcare center where my wife and our staff are raising the next generation of Biddeford residents, as a real estate professional who witnesses firsthand the extraordinary demand people have to live and invest here and as a proud citizen who calls this place home.

But I am also watching something else unfold — something that concerns me deeply. For the second time in less than two years, Biddeford is searching for a city manager. The revolving door at City Hall has to stop. And the way we conduct this search will determine whether it does.

We Cannot Afford to Get This Wrong Again

Let me be direct. The departure of Truc Dever after only nine months was not simply a personnel matter. It was a symptom.

In her resignation letter, she described “too many demands and not enough time in a day,” a working environment where excessive “control and oversight” made it impossible to lead effectively, and a scope of challenges so long-standing and systemic that she felt she had been misled during the hiring process.

That is a damning indictment — not of one person, but of a broken system.

Before Dever, City Manager James Bennett spent a decade accumulating controversy, leaving behind delayed financial audits, a revolving door of finance directors, and a cloud of distrust that still hangs over City Hall. Before him, each manager faced their own version of Biddeford’s political turbulence.

The pattern is clear. Biddeford keeps hiring for the short term and paying the long-term price.

As a real estate professional, I can tell you that instability at the top of a city’s government is not an abstract concern — it is a market signal. Businesses considering a downtown location, developers evaluating a housing project, and families deciding where to put down roots all pay attention to whether a city is well-managed. Every time we make the front page for the wrong reasons, we undermine the very momentum that so many have worked so hard to build.

. . .

The Search Must Be Different This Time

Here is what I am asking Mayor Liam Lafountain, the Biddeford City Council and Gerrish Municipal Consulting Services to do differently.

First, be radically honest with candidates about what they are walking into. Truc Dever said she would not have applied had she known the full extent of the challenges. That is not a failure of her judgment — that is a failure of our disclosure. Every finalist for this position must receive a complete and unvarnished picture of the internal challenges, the political dynamics, the budget pressures, and the expectations placed on this role.

Surprises in month three are how we end up back at square one.

Second, prioritize proven city management experience. Biddeford is not a training ground. We need someone who has served as a city or town manager — not just a department director — in a community of comparable complexity. They must have navigated difficult budgets, managed labor relations, led infrastructure projects, and rebuilt public trust. The International City/County Management Association’s core competencies for professional local government management — personal integrity, community engagement, staff effectiveness, and strategic leadership — should serve as our baseline, not our ceiling.

Third, the city council must commit to letting the manager manage. One of the most sobering lessons of the past two years is that micromanagement from elected officials is not accountability — it is sabotage. The Council’s role is to set policy and hold the manager accountable for results. The manager’s role is to run the city. That boundary must be clearly defined, mutually respected and written into the employment agreement. A great manager will not stay in a city where they cannot lead.

One of the most sobering
lessons of the past two years
is that micromanagement from
elected officials is not accountability
— it is sabotage.

Fourth, invest in the whole team, not just the top. The next city manager cannot succeed if the positions around them remain vacant. The Chief Operating Officer role, the Finance Director, the City Clerk — these are not optional. They are the infrastructure of good governance. The Council must commit to fully staffing City Hall as part of this transition, not leave the new manager to inherit a skeleton crew.

Finally, make community partnership a core expectation. As president of Heart of Biddeford, I can tell you that the organizations, businesses, and residents who are most invested in this city’s future are ready and willing to be partners. We are not adversaries of City Hall — we are its greatest resource. The next City Manager must see us that way. They should be present at community events, responsive to downtown organizations and genuinely curious about what residents and business owners are experiencing on the ground.

. . .

Biddeford’s Moment Is Now

I have been a realtor in this market long enough to know that Biddeford’s window of opportunity is real, but it is not infinite. The demand to live here, to invest here, to build a life here is extraordinary.

Our downtown has added 146 net new businesses and 634 housing units since 2016. The Heart of Biddeford won the Great American Main Street Award just a few short years ago. We are Maine’s youngest city. The energy here is unlike anything else in this state.

But energy without management becomes chaos. Growth without leadership becomes crisis. And a city that cannot keep a manager for more than a year sends a message to the world that it is not ready for what it has asked for.

Biddeford is ready. I know it because I live it every day — in the childcare center where young families trust us with their most precious people, in the real estate transactions where buyers choose Biddeford over every other option, in the downtown streets where volunteers, artists, and entrepreneurs show up year after year because they believe in this place.

Now we need a city manager who believes in it too — and a city council and mayor who will give them the tools, the trust, and the team they need to succeed. Biddeford deserves better than a revolving door. Let’s get this right.

. . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Scott Thibeau serves as president of the Heart of Biddeford Board of Directors, co-owner of Miles of Smiles Childcare Center, and is a licensed Realtor and longtime resident of Biddeford.

. . .

NOTE | The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Biddeford Gazette, its staff, affiliates or sponsors. We encourage robust and diverse community conversations on topics related to the city of Biddeford. For information about how to submit your own column, please CONTACT US

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