Councilor Brad Cote – BIDDEFORD GAZETTE

City Manager finds some significant savings while councilors consider deep cuts to social service funding requests; a public hearing will be held tonight

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

At the start of the Biddeford City Council’s budget workshop meeting on Monday, City Manager Truc Dever walked members of the council through several pages of a revised budget request that removed all social service funding requests and trimmed several areas that she previously suggested for funding.

The goal, Dever said, was to take a “hard look” at every possible opportunity to reduce costs and lower potential property tax impacts.

Despite some public comments supporting spending increases during last week’s public hearing on Dever’s original budget, many city councilors said they have since been feeling increased pressure and scrutiny from a public that is weary of ever-increasing city budgets.

By trimming things such as the annual employee recognition banquet, delaying professional training for senior staffers and reducing spending in several departments, Dever told the council that she and her staff were able to deliver a package that would require a mil (tax) rate of $14.98, representing just a four-cent increase over last year’s established mil rate of $14.94.

The mil rate is one part of the equation of determining the annual property tax obligation. The mil rate is multiplied by each $1,000 of a property’s assessed value to determine the overall annual tax obligation.

For example, a home, building or parcel with an assessed value of $100,000 would have a tax obligation of $1,498. That same property would have a tax obligation of $1,494 last year – an overall $4 increase.

While mil rates and property assessments fluctuate, the overall budget is what drives the debate and ultimately decides what the city’s general tax obligation will be.

Dever told councilors that her revised budget reflected a decrease of roughly $2.7 million, from a $52.8 million proposed starting point in March, to a $50.1 million budget proposal on Monday.

But all eyes during Monday’s workshop meeting were focused on the city’s social service spending budget.

Dever said adding back only half of the social service funding requests would increase the mil rate back to $15.16.

Dever suggested that the council should begin their recommended cuts from a place that would not include any social service funding, including the McArthur Library, the Biddeford Food Pantry, LaKermesse, the Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center, Heart of Biddeford, the Community Gardens and many others

Council tackles social service spending

Councilor Dylan Doughty said he appreciates the hard work that Dever and her staff put into developing a leaner budget proposal.

Doughty also said, “it’s evident that there are many organizations doing hard and credible work throughout the city.”

At the same time, Doughty said he is “uncomfortable” donating to any organization that is not self-sufficient.

Council President Roger Beaupre suggested reducing the library’s $1 million funding request by 25 percent, noting that the library already received a $250,000 in federal grant money from the city for repairs to their facility.

“They [the library] are a private entity, and the city has buildings that are deteriorating,” Beaupre said. “That is my angst.”

Councilor Lisa Vadnais agreed with Beaupre, reminding her fellow councilors that the library is “not an essential service such as the city’s police and fire departments.”

Councilor Brad Cote also proposed significant austerity measures.

“We need to cut much deeper,” Cote said. “This year, we really have to focus on the basics. We just can’t keep adding to the budget. I hate to be the hatchet man, but we have to make some hard decisions.”

“I hate to be the hatchet man,
but we have to make some
hard decisions.”
— Councilor Brad Cote

Councilor David Kurtz, however, expressed a different perspective, asking his fellow councilors to consider the consequences of deep cuts in social service programs.

“I don’t want to cut off our noses to drive down only two or three dollars a month for most homeowners,” Kurtz said. “Maintaining our social service spending has real benefits and cutting those programs will have unintended costs.”

Kurtz said that even asking the various non-profits to keep their funding requests flat from last year still represents a decrease in funding for them, when considering the impacts of inflation.

But Cote shot back, saying this year is not the year for the council to fully fund social service funding requests.

“Making [these cuts] turns my stomach,” Cote said. “There’s just not a lot of meat left on that bone.”

Councilor Pat Boston reminded her fellow councilors and members of the public that Monday’s discussion and proposed spending cuts were just a “starting point” for a long series of meetings that will include two formal hearings before the council.

“There is still a lot of time and opportunity for public input and discussion,” Boston said.

In fact, the council will be hosting another public hearing about the budget this evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Dever said she is expecting revised numbers from the school department to arrive on Wednesday.

To see and/or download Dever’s proposed reductions as either an MS/Excel File or as a PDF document, please visit the Gazette’s special 2027 Biddeford Budget page

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READER FEEDBACK:

SCOTT CROTEAU | One thing I can’t find is medical costs for the employees. I also want to know if the city pays 100% or do the employees have to pay a portion of it?

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Biddeford Gazette | Editorial Standards & Policies

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

Following more than an hour of passionate and sometimes tense debate, the Biddeford City Council voted 6-3 (Cote, Kurtz and Woods) Tuesday to reject a proposed 90-day moratorium on rental and lease fee increases at mobile home parks in the city.

More than 20 mobile home park residents packed the council chambers, making their support for the moratorium known both in attendance and sometimes emotional testimony before the council.

The moratorium was proposed by Ward Seven City Councilor Brad Cote whose district includes one of several mobile home parks in the city.

*Mobile home park resident Chris Parsons addresses the Biddeford City Council saying fee increases should be reasonable, in accordance with “Maine values.” (Seaver photo)*

Donna Porter, a resident at the Granite Estates mobile home park, told councilors that most of her neighbors are elderly and on fixed incomes. She said the park was sold to a new out-of-state owner in 2021 and that monthly rent fees have increased dramatically since then.

“Most of us are elderly and on a fixed income,” Porter said, claiming that incremental increases have seen monthly lot fees increase by more than $250 per month over the last five years.

Porter told the council that she and other residents are offered no tangible amenities other than weekly trash pickup and snow removal.

“We pay for our own heat, water, electricity and sewer,” Porter said. “What we are facing now is nothing but blatant corporate greed.”

Chris Parsons, another Granite Estates resident, said he does not object to a private business earning a profit.

A self-described semi-retired, small business owner, Parson told the council that the park’s new owners “are certainly entitled” to making a profit, but it should be done in a “reasonable way” that is consistent with Maine values. “Where are we supposed to go?” he asked the council.

The Maine Legislature is currently wrestling with the mobile home park fee dilemmas across the state.

Alex White, a self-described “real estate professional” cautioned the council against enacting a moratorium, arguing that such a move would have a “chilling effect” on potential investors who are looking to do business in Biddeford.

“I don’t really have a dog in this fight, but at the risk of being tarred and feathered, I would say that a moratorium is an unnecessary step, which should be reserved for real emergencies.”

White said the council could easily consider the issue and possible policy changes without enacting an emergency 90-day moratorium.

The council debate touched on several issues, and Cote was visibly frustrated by the remarks from some of his fellow councilors, most notably commentary from at-large Councilor Marc Lessard, a self-described fiscal conservative.

Lessard described the proposed moratorium as the first step on a “slippery slope” that could lead to the implementation of rent control in Biddeford.

Pointing out that more than 50 percent of housing units in Biddeford are rental units versus owner-occupied homes, Lessard argued that the city should not put its thumbprint on private business.

“Where does this end?” Lessard asked, rhetorically. “Do we tell Hannaford that they cannot raise their costs because food is too expensive?”

Lessard said the city would never approve a moratorium on property tax increases but is trying to tell the private sector how much their prices can increase.

“I empathize with the plight of those who are here tonight,” Lessard said. “There are no easy answers to this.”

Cote said the council is facing a potentially hypocritical dilemma.

“How, on God’s green earth, are we going to claim that this council is going to address affordable housing with a straight face if we can’t pass a simple 90-day moratorium to examine this issue?” Cote said. “You don’t want to see unhoused people downtown. Well, things are just going to get worse.”

Other councilors, including Patricia Boston and Roger Beaupre, pointed out that the 90-day moratorium would have no tangible benefit to either the city or park residents.

“It might look good, but nothing we do tonight would impact these residents,” Boston said, suggesting that the council should consider a broader policy that could include updated state policy recommendations.

“Ninety days is simply not enough time to craft an ordinance,” Beaupre added. “I empathize with the people here tonight. I would like to have a moratorium on my cable bill.”

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