Council splits on supporting state bill for emergency shelters

February 18, 2026February 18, 2026 ~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

Despite some misinformation floating about on social media, the Biddeford City Council did not vote Tuesday against funding for emergency shelters to assist unhoused residents.

Instead, the council took up a resolution introduced by Mayor Liam LaFountain to express support for a bill now being considered by the Maine Legislature.

The bill – LD 2124 – would change how some county tax revenues are used. The proposed legislation calls for shifting revenue generated by real estate transfer taxes to a fund that could be used to help municipalities offset the cost of providing emergency services to unhoused residents.

Before debating the proposed resolution, the council heard testimony from Richard Dutremble of Biddeford, the current chair of the York County Commissioners.

“We are totally against this,” Dutremble told the council, saying the transfer of county revenues to the state’s coffers for new spending would ultimately hurt individual cities and towns in York County.

*County Commissioner Richard Dutremble addresses the Biddeford City Council. (Seaver photo)*

“This will decrease our revenue and impact our ability to provide services,” Dutremble told the council. “If this bill passes, it will have an immediate impact on our communities. We’ll have to make up that budget loss by asking for additional tax money from communities such as Biddeford.”

“Once again, people in Augusta are trying to extract more money from the counties,” Dutremble said, noting that the county does provide funding for unhoused services.

One of the bill’s co-sponsors is State Rep. Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford, the Speaker of the House.

City Councilor Dylan Doughty — Fecteau’s domestic partner — asked permission to abstain from discussion or voting on the issue because of what could be perceived as a conflict of interest.

Doughty’s recusal set the stage for a 4-4 split on whether to vote in support of the legislative resolution.

LaFountain told the council that the city’s legislative delegation – including State Representatives Marc Malon and Traci Gere, along with State Sen. Henry Ingwersen – are all supporting the bill.

LaFountain serves on a group known as the Mayors Coalition, an advocacy group made up of the state’s 11 mayors, including Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail and the mayors of Portland, Lewiston, Westbrook, South Portland, Bangor and others.

That coalition, LaFountain said, is supporting the bill.

Following rigorous debate and questions about the bill’s potential impacts on county government and Biddeford taxpayers, the council split evenly on whether to approve the expression of support for LD 2124.

Councilors Roger Beaupre, Brad Cote, David Kurtz and Abigail Woods voted to support the legislative resolution.

Councilors Patricia Boston, Marc Lessard, Jacob Pierson and Lisa Vadnais voted against supporting the resolution.

Councilor Doughty abstained from voting.

By council rules, the mayor only votes when the council is tied.

LaFountain – who supported the resolution – said he felt compelled to vote against the measure since it did not receive a majority vote of the council.

“This is a strange position to be in,” the mayor laughed.

During a follow-up interview, the mayor said residents should contact their state representatives to express support or concerns about the bill.

NOTE: Contact information for Biddeford’s Legislative Delegation

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He has been covering Biddeford news and politics for nearly three decades. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE |A Legacy of Trusted, Independent Journalism

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Angers considers run for county commission

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 ~ Randy Seaver ~ Leave a comment

A longtime fixture at City Hall, Roch Angers tells the Gazette he wants to follow in Richard Dutremble’s footsteps at the county level

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

Roch Angers – a longtime former Biddeford city councilor and a current planning board member – told the Gazette Sunday that he is seriously considering a run for the District Two seat on the York County Board of Commissioners.

The county’s District Two seat is being vacated this year by Richard Dutremble of Biddeford who announced in January that he will not seek reelection after 20 years of service on the board.

Last week, former Biddeford City Councilor Doris Ortiz formally announced that she is hoping to replace Dutremble as the county commissioner representing Biddeford.

Angers, 73, is a well-known politician in the city of Biddeford. For many years, his family ran a small grocery store on South Street. He attended St. Louis High School and then graduated from Biddeford High School in 1971.

Angers has been a fixture at City Hall for more than three decades. His brother Luc was Biddeford’s city clerk in the 1980s.

*Former Biddeford City Councilor Roch Angers (Contributed photo)*

Roch Angers has served on the Biddeford City Council under four different mayors, including Lucien “Babe” Dutremble, Roger Normand, Donna Dion and Alan Casavant.

“I guess you could say that I have been around for quite a while,” he laughed during a telephone interview. “I still enjoy public service.”

Angers, a self-described moderate and fiscal conservative, said he wants to follow in Dutremble’s footsteps.

“I think he [Dutremble] is an outstanding commissioner,” Angers said. “When I learned he was stepping down, I picked up the phone and begged him to stay in the seat.”

Angers has served nearly a decade on the Biddeford Planning Board, and he became the center of controversy last year when he personally appeared before the Biddeford City Council to express his concerns about a controversial research pier being proposed by the University of New England.

In August – only days before the planning board narrowly voted 3-2 to approve the project — Angers told the council he was troubled by the review process.

“Something about this seems fishy,” Angers told the council. He was one of two planning board members who later voted against the proposal.

Planning Board member Roch Angers shares his concerns about UNE’s controversial plan to build a research pier on the Saco River during an August 5, 2025 council meeting. “Something about this feels fishy,” he said. (Seaver photo)

Former Mayor Marty Grohman was incensed by Angers’ move to speak publicly about the project while also serving as a member of the planning board.

Grohman later attempted to remove Angers from the planning board but got almost no support for that effort from the city council.

When Grohman brought the issue forward, the council remained silent and stone-faced. No one would second a motion offered by former Ward One City Councilor William Emhiser.

After several seconds of silence from the other eight councilors, City Attorney Harry Center advised the mayor that the issue was dead on arrival.

Grohman later told the Gazette that he would continue his efforts to remove Angers from the planning board. That never happened.

Today, Angers is enjoying his retirement after working many years in various management positions for Shaw’s supermarkets across Maine.

“I think I have something to offer,” Angers said, pointing out that he is concerned about the growing county budget and its impact on Biddeford and the city’s neighboring communities of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Angers said he hopes to make a final decision about running in the next few days. He said he has been calling several people throughout the community.

“Many people have told me that they would support me,” Angers said. “I am honored and truly appreciative of that support, but I want to make sure that I dot my I’s and cross my T’s,” he laughed.

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CORRECTION: This story contained an error, stating that Angers retired as a butcher from the Shaw’s supermarket in Saco. In fact, Angers retired from Shaw’s after many years of working in various management positions for Shaw’s supermarkets across the state. We have corrected the story, and apologize for the error.

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Ortiz hopes to be a county commissioner

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 ~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

The former Biddeford city councilor said she is excited about the prospect of returning to public service

By RANDY SEAVER, Editor

Doris Ortiz had to give up her at-large seat on the Biddeford City Council last year when she and her partner decided to buy a home in the adjacent town of Arundel.

During an interview with the Gazette this week, Ortiz said she missed being able to help her neighbors as a local government representative.

Today, Ortiz is hoping that she can once again have a meaningful impact on her community and another chance to help her neighbors.

Ortiz, 58, has formally announced that she is seeking the District Two seat on the York County Commissioners board. That seat is currently held by Richard Dutremble of Biddeford, who is now serving as the commission’s chair.

*Former Biddeford City Councilor Doris Ortiz says there are a lot of similarities between serving as a* city councilor and as a county commissioner (Contributed photo)

In January, Dutremble announced that he would not seek reelection after 20 years of service on the commission.

District Two includes the communities of Arundel, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Ortiz says there are a lot of similarities between serving as a city councilor and as a county commissioner. Both organizations address many of the same issues, from regional housing needs to infrastructure updates and improvements.

“I found serving on the city council to be very fulfilling,” Ortiz said. “It was a tremendous experience, and I learned a lot during my almost six years of being a city councilor.”

One of the things Ortiz learned was that county government has a big impact on the city of Biddeford.

“Whether you’re talking about the city’s share of the county’s budget or about shared resources, including emergency services and other things, what happens at the county level makes a big impact on the city of Biddeford and other communities.”

Because Biddeford is the largest municipality in York County, Ortiz says the city shoulders a lot of the burden for people who live just beyond the city’s borders.

“Biddeford is a service center community in York County,” Ortiz said. “As a result, the city gets a lot of traffic and growing demands for a variety of services.”

Those services include a regional hospital and state services, including the county’s combined district courthouse, the Department of Health and Human Services and a plethora of popular retail outlets.

The county, meanwhile, offers municipalities several services and facilities, including operations of the jail, a full-time sheriff’s department and support services for both emergency housing options and a regional food pantry.

Ortiz said she was intrigued by some of the things she has seen the county take on over the past few years.

“The new First Responders Training Center got me really excited,” Ortiz said. “It’s an excellent opportunity for collaboration between the city and the county, and will help municipalities as they struggle to find, hire and train emergency first responders.”

But Ortiz says the biggest reason she’s running again is because it could be another opportunity to give back to her community.

“It’s really a central part of who I am and what drives me,” Ortiz said. “I know it may sound weird, but I actually enjoy digging into public policy and finding innovative ways to help people around me.”

Ortiz is employed by Bernstein Shur, a Portland-based law firm, where she has worked as a client service specialist for nearly 13 years.

Ortiz was first elected to the Biddeford City Council in 2019 and was then twice reelected for successive terms as one of the city’s two at-large representatives.

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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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Dutremble to lead York County Commissioners in 2026

January 14, 2026January 14, 2026 ~ Randy Seaver ~ 1 Comment

By TAMMY WELLS

York County Commissioner Richard Dutremble of Biddeford was unanimously voted as chair of the five-member board during its organizational meeting Jan. 7.

Dutremble has served as a York County Commissioner for 20 years – including seven years as chair since 2007 – and said this year will be his last as a commissioner.

“I’m not running for re-election,” he said of the upcoming November vote. Noting two major projects the county has undertaken are winding down – The York County Regional Training Center which recently began offering classes to first responders and the York County Recovery Center, expected to be completed this fall – and with the county in good financial shape, he said it is time.

York County Commissioners Justin Chenette, Donna Ring, Chair Richard Dutremble, Vice Chair Robert
Andrews, and Richard Clark. (Contributed photo)

Dutremble represents District 2, which includes Arundel, Biddeford Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Robert Andrews of Lebanon, currently vice chair, will serve in that position again in 2026, his fourth time in the role. He represents municipalities in District 1 – Acton, Berwick, Cornish, Lebanon, Limington, Newfield, North Berwick, Parsonsfield, Shapleigh, and South Berwick.

Commissioner Richard Clark f Wells, representing District 5 – Eliot, Kittery, York, Ogunquit and Wells – will continue as a director of Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc., a nonprofit that works to provide access to jobs, skill development and business services vital to the social and economic well-being of the communities in the six coastal counties it represents.

Commissioner Donna Ring of Alfred, who represents District 4 – Alfred, Dayton, Limerick, Lyman, Sanford and Waterboro, was voted as the board’s representative to Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.

Commissioner Justin Chenette of Saco, who represents District 3 – Buxton, Hollis, Old Orchard Beach and Saco – was voted Maine County Commissioners Association representative as well as York County’s representative to the MCCA risk pool.

The five-member board of commissioners set fees for items ranging from mileage rates to notarization fees. For the most part, the fees remain the same as in past years, with the exception of the administration fee for serving civil papers. Currently at $10, commissioners voted to increase the civil process administrative fee by $25, as allowed by Maine statutes.

Those who need copies of accident reports will pay $20 – the same fee since 2021. Background check fees remain at the 2023 rate of $20; notarization and attestation fees are $5 and $10 respectively – the 2020 rate.

The county mileage reimbursement rate is 67 cents per mile – the same as in 2024, and meals for those on county business reimbursed $15 for breakfast, $20 for lunch and $25 for dinner, or a total of $60 per day.

The board approved a contract with Waterboro for deputy coverage. York County Manager Greg Zinser noted two changes – the contract spells out that the York County Sheriff’s Office will provide up to 80 hours a week coverage, and the county will purchase the cruiser and lease it hourly to the town. In prior contracts, the municipality purchased the vehicle. Zinser noted the county has always had the right to pull a deputy from coverage if needed elsewhere, and now the new contract spells it out with the “up to” 80 hours clause.

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Tammy Wells is a media specialist for York County government.

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