Mayor Liam LaFountain said he went into his new role with his eyes wide open, and says he remains committed to the idea of finishing his term by leaving the city in a stronger position than it was before he was elected
By RANDY SEAVER | Editor
Almost halfway through his two-year term, Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain spoke with the Biddeford Gazette on Sunday about some ongoing challenges at City Hall, his hopes for the next few months and some bright spots on the city’s horizon.
LaFountain and other city leaders in Biddeford have been facing increasing public frustration and discontent on a number of fronts, including still overdue financial audits, increasing property taxes and frustration about the impacts of a growing unhoused population that tends to congregate not far from the city’s center.
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In November, the city’s voters chose new leadership by electing LaFountain and a crop of several new city councilors to replace Mayor Marty Grohman and several councilors who chose to not seek reelection. LaFountain – who previously served one term as the city council’s president and another term as the council’s Ward Seven representative – campaigned on themes of restoring transparency and accountability at City Hall.
Today, the 30-year-old mayor says he went into the job with his eyes wide open and knew the road ahead would be challenging because of issues that festered beneath the surface for many years – such as rapid employee turnover at City Hall, questions about the city’s Finance Department and concerns about “sweetheart real estate deals” that included property tax incentives.
Voters were also angry about what appeared to be a somewhat cozy relationship between the city and the operators of the Pearl Street parking garage. Meanwhile, many coastal residents were upset by how the city was handling a controversial proposal by the University of New England to build a large-scale research pier on the Saco River – and questions about why the city chose to sideline its harbormaster from reviewing the project.
One thing after another
. . .
But LaFountain’s first few months as mayor has been made increasingly difficult by several unexpected developments, including ongoing staff turnovers at City Hall and the fatal shooting of an unarmed Biddeford resident by federal agents on July 13.
In November – just days after LaFountain was elected — Deputy City Manager Brian Phinney announced his resignation and left City Hall in January. That position remains today unfilled.
In March, former City Clerk Robin Patterson abruptly announced her resignation. That position also remains unfilled.
In recent months, City Hall has experienced other department head transitions, including the city’s human resources director and the hiring of a new assessor.
Undaunted by some staffing turnovers, LaFountain and the council focused on getting the city’s financial house in order, including overdue audits and addressing reported problems in how residential sewer bills were being calculated.
Then — just as Biddeford’s elected leaders began digging into the meat of an especially contentious municipal budget — former city manager Truc Dever dropped a bombshell with her sudden and unexpected resignation.
Dever, who had been on the job for a little more than nine months, wrote a scathing resignation letter that indirectly blamed the mayor and several members of the council for having unrealistic expectations about repairing systemic problems at City Hall.
“Despite my best efforts, there are simply too many demands and not enough time in a day to tackle what’s needed,” Dever wrote in her April 26 resignation letter.
The city council doubled down on their work, conducting a grueling series of arduous budget workshop meetings in an attempt to find a proposal that would be acceptable to the public without significant cuts to public service.
The budget was finalized in June, but just six weeks later – another bombshell dropped, and the city of Biddeford fell under intense and national media scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) officer.
The shooting sparked intense protests, and some members of the public almost immediately began assigning blame directed toward LaFountain and other city leaders.
While some residents said the city was not doing enough to address the issue, others faulted the mayor for not stopping angry protestors who have set up a round-the-clock demonstration at Mechanic’s Park, waving at passing motorists with profanity-laden signs.
Through it all – emotional public outbursts at city council meetings and a flurry of social media criticism about rising property taxes and allegations of indifference about the impacts of unhoused residents – LaFountain has remained a steady leader with a tempered and level demeanor.
Earlier this month, City Attorney Harry Center presented LaFountain and the city council with a memo he has been drafting for several weeks, describing various options the city has in restricting ICE activity within the city.
Center’s presentation – and subsequent praise from an immigration rights advocate – seemed to cool members of the public who were pressuring the council to do more to address concerns among members of Biddeford’s immigrant community.
“I don’t blame people for being angry,” LaFountain said during our interview. “I understand the frustration, but I want to be clear that we – the council and I – are committed to moving forward, fixing what needs to be fixed and addressing the city’s challenges head-on.”
Addressing the challenges
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For the past several weeks, LaFountain has held a series of open office meetings on Saturday mornings, giving residents a one-on-one opportunity to meet with the mayor and address their concerns,
LaFountain said those meetings have been “constructive,” and are often punctuated by residents who are concerned about affordability in a city that is knee-deep in a pattern of consequential gentrification, which is being fueled by an influx of younger and more affluent residents.
On the city staffing front, LaFountain said the city council is now conducting “final interviews” with at least three candidates who have stepped forward to become the next city manager. That selection process is winding down, and LaFountain said he hopes to publicly announce the new manager within the next two weeks.
Regarding the vacant human resources director position, LaFountain said the city is now actively seeking a replacement following the recent close of separation negotiations with the former HR director.
LaFountain said the council will soon be asked to approve temporarily hiring an outside firm – Range Culture — to fill any needed gaps during the transition period in the Human Resources Department,
As for the City Clerk’s position, LaFountain said the city has received a limited number of applications and described the replacement search as “ongoing” while Lisa Ward continues to serve as the interim city clerk.
Earlier this year, the city hired a new assessor and a new director of economic development to fill a vacancy that was created more than a year ago.
LaFountain said the next city manager will be given the opportunity to hire a deputy city manager, a position that does not require confirmation by the city council.
LaFountain said the council is very much focused on completing the FY’25 audit, a goal he described as a “high priority,” that is sometimes hampered by a complex process involving coordination of outside auditors.
A safe and welcoming downtown area
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LaFountain pointed out that the cities of Biddeford and Saco were recently awarded a private grant that will help the two cities develop strategies and long-term solutions in addressing the regional needs of unhoused residents and the concerns of downtown business owners and others who say the problem is growing and is now out-of-hand.
“These are complex issues that involve lots of moving parts,” LaFountain said. “The city can address encampments on public property, but there are limits to our authority when it comes to private property.”
LaFountain said encampments near rail tracks and under some bridges are not on city property.
These things are not
— Mayor Liam LaFountain
easy to fix, but we
were not elected to
do easy things.”
When it comes to increasing complaints about vulgar signage and ongoing protests at Mechanics Park, LaFountain said the city is in the process of reviewing and clarifying its ordinances – but also cannot prevent citizens from exercising their First Amendment rights.
“There is a fine line, and we have to ensure that any actions do not infringe on Constitutionally-protected rights,” the mayor said.
Addressing affordability
LaFountain recently attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for an expansion of the Biddeford Primary School. That expansion gives the city flexibility to pursue the option of providing full-time Pre-K day care for working parents who are struggling to meet the rising costs of private daycare.
“The complaint I most often hear about is rising property taxes,” LaFountain said. “The council and I are working to find new cost-saving opportunities that will not require significant cuts to existing services.
“We have a responsibility to consider the needs of our most vulnerable residents – including seniors and others on fixed incomes,” LaFountain said. “The city – just like every household – is also facing increasing costs.
“The concerns are real, and they are legitimate,” LaFountain added. “I’d like to see broader public participation in the budget process. These things are not easy to fix, but we were not elected to do easy things.”
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