There is no denying that the internal functioning of day-to-day business at Biddeford City Hall is consumed by increasing chaos and failed leadership.
The Titanic sunk because of hubris and multiple miscalculations by professionals who should have known better. You can point to the iceberg, but the responsibility for that disaster rests at the feet of the ship’s captain.
Biddeford is lucky. We have some outstanding employees at City Hall, but the upper management is seriously flawed. The Titanic didn’t sink because of the chambermaids, cooks or the men shoveling coal into her furnaces. It was the fault of the captain, pure and simple.
It didn’t have to be this way in Biddeford. There were plenty of red flags that were ignored by two mayors and a city council that seems stymied by indecision and a paralysis of analysis.
Let us now review just some of the red flags that happened just this year:
FORENSIC ANALYSIS NEEDED
In June 2024, the Biddeford City Council voted unanimously to hire an outside accounting firm (BerryDunn) to conduct a forensic audit and analysis of the city’s finance department. City Manager James Bennett has been acting as the city’s treasurer because that position remains vacant. The city is long overdue on its required, regular audits.
I am filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to determine whether BerryDunn has yet made any reports and what information those reports contain.
CREDITORS AND VENDORS NOT BEING PAID:
On October 9, 2024, I confirmed with a member of the city council that there is a “cash-flow problem” at City Hall. I have also heard complaints from some vendors about late or still unpaid invoices. I am filing a FOIA to determine exactly how much is owed and whether those outstanding balances are accruing interest or subject to penalties and late fees.
BOND RATING IMPACT ?
It has been reported — though not yet confirmed — that Moody’s Bond Rating Company may soon downgrade the city’s bond rating because of late payments and other issues. If the city’s bond rating is downgraded that could likely impact the city’s ability to borrow funds for municipal bonds, including higher interest rates. Again, this issue will be addressed in my planned FOIA request.
Earlier in 2024, reports were received that city checks were being returned. City Manager James Bennett said individuals in the city’s finance department failed to use a “special ink” for printing the checks, thus those checks were returned because they could not be processed,
DELAYED PROPERTY TAX BILLS AND SEWER BILLS:
As of October 10, the city had yet to mail residential and commercial property tax bills. The council is expected to vote Tuesday, Oct. 15 on a measure to determine whether residents will be given an extension beyond the usual November 1 deadline.
During the October 1, City Council meeting, City Manager James Bennett blamed errors made in the assessing department for the delay. The city also sent more than 100 tax payment lien notices because the city did not apply escrow mortgage payments made by Wells Fargo and other housing lenders.
Quarterly sewer bills have not been issued since March 2024. City Manager James Bennett told the council that residents will NOT be required to pay the entire aggregate balance once they do receive the bills. Both Bennett and Mayor Marty Grohman say the error was the result of a planned upgrade to the billing system.
STATE GENERAL ASSISTANCE REIMBURSEMENTS REQUESTS DELAYED
According to multiple sources, the city of Biddeford was more than nine months behind on requesting reimbursement for is General Assistance (GA) expenses. By law, the state of Maine is required to reimburse the city for 70 percent of its GA allocations. GA is used to provide emergency housing, heating and utility assistance for qualified applicants. Specific information regarding this issue will also be included in my FOIA request, which will be posted on this site.
UNPRECEDENTED RATE OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER:
Unlike other communities in southern Maine, the city of Biddeford is experiencing rapid turnover in several departments, including finance, economic development, the city clerk’s office and other positions. While some turnover is normal and to be expected, including retirements, Biddeford’s rate of attrition far outpaces many other communities. For example, we are now on our sixth finance director in five years. We have also gone through a slew of planning department directors.
Our fire chief, city clerk, assessor and economic development director are all new hires within the last year. Again, some of that is normal due to retirements and other benign issues, but the attrition of rank-and-file employees is also problematic and adding to the chaos at City Hall.
Several former and current city employees have reached out to me and report a “toxic work environment.” They say the city manager runs City Hall with an iron fist, demanding absolute loyalty and prohibits employees from talking (“complaining’) to other employees or to anyone outside of City Hall. Most of these employees do not want to publicly reveal their names for fear of retribution. They report being belittled and disrespected. I will be sending the city manager a letter (via email) asking if he would like to comment on the accusations being leveled against him by staff and others. I will post that letter here.
WIDESPREAD COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CITY MANAGER:
In addition to some current and former employees, I have also received documented complaints about the Biddeford’s city manager from former city councilors, current city councilors, businesspeople including real estate developers and others, even civic groups who are trying to do business in the city. I have also heard complaints from elected officials in other communities about difficulties in trying to do projects with Biddeford.
WHY DO PEOPLE CALL AND WRITE TO ME ABOUT THESE ISSUES?
I have been covering Biddeford City Hall for nearly three decades, beginning in the late 1990s as a reporter for the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier. I have a long and well-known reputation for being fair, for asking tough questions and for producing balanced news coverage.
I was basically born and raised in this community and attended local schools. My wife is a former Biddeford City Councilor. We continue to live in Biddeford. This is where we raised our kids. People trust that I protect my sources. After leaving journalism in 2006, I began work as a political consultant. I served as the campaign manager for former mayor Alan Casavant’s first two mayoral campaigns, I also did consulting work for Casella Waste Systems and the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and many other clients in southern Maine. I began this blog in 2012, continuing to write personal observations regarding Biddeford politics long after I stepped down as editor of the Courier in 2006.
I have done some periodic, freelance work for Saco Bay News, covering Biddeford City Hall. I loved doing it. I miss doing it, but I decided to give it up on July 1 so I could begin this campaign to oust James Bennett from the city manager’s office.
Bottom line: people know and trust me. They know that I will not be bullied or silenced, and that I will be relentless in fighting for transparency. They know that I have a bullhorn and they are hoping that I can expose the root cause of these problems.
I would be happy to talk with you if you have a story to share. Please feel free to contact me.
[Updates will continue to be posted here]
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