IRS – BIDDEFORD GAZETTE

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

City officials in Biddeford are breathing a sigh of relief today after learning that the IRS will be waiving more than $500,000 in fees and penalties that were levied against the city two years ago.

Furthermore, City Manager Truc Dever says the IRS will also refund roughly $200,000 that the city already paid in penalties that resulted from the city’s failure to file employee health insurance forms with the IRS in 2021.

The Biddeford Gazette first published information about the IRS penalties in March 2025,

“This is really great news,” Dever told the Gazette earlier today.

According to Dever, much of the credit for getting the fines removed were the result “of some very hard work” by staffers in U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’s regional office in Biddeford.

“Both Pam Buck and Andrea Sarris in Senator Collins office worked closely with the city of several months to help us resolve this issue,” Dever said.

Assessor leaving

The Gazette also learned today that City Assessor Deanne Vail has accepted a new job in the town of Scarborough.

Vail will remain at her current job in Biddeford until Feb. 26, according to the city manager

These reports will be updated as new information becomes available,

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

The city of Biddeford is now facing roughly $500,000 in penalties and fines from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to City Manager Truc Dever, the issue traces back to 2021 when the city failed to submit specific forms detailing employee health insurance.

“Initially, the fines and penalties were approximately $700,000,” Dever told the city council during last week’s meeting.

Dever said the city already paid the IRS roughly $200,000 in fines. She also said that the city is working closely with staffers in U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ office to help rectify the issue.

Dever told the council that she is expecting an answer from the IRS sometime before March.

The issue first came to light in 2024, and several councilors asked whether the issue was isolated to just the 2021 incident.

Dever said the fines are incurring compounded interest payments.

Councilor Dylan Doughty asked whether the city could renegotiate the penalty payments and whether they could be spread over a period of time.

“If the IRS determines that there was no harm, no foul – will we get the $200,000 back?” Doughty asked.

Dever said she was not sure how the IRS will proceed.

City Attorney Harry Center told councilors that the IRS determined the city’s penalties by calculating the number of its employees. The city has roughly 700 employees, he said.

Mayor Liam LaFountain asked Dever if the city could be facing other penalties for different tax years and whether processes have been put in place to prevent the situation from happening again sometime in the future.

Dever told the mayor that the issue was contained to the 2021 filing and that the city is monitoring and updating all of its tax and federal filing obligations.

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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Tag: IRS

BREAKING NEWS: IRS will waive $700K in penalties against Biddeford; city assessor taking new job

City facing $500k in IRS penalties, fines