The city’s negotiating team is on the cusp of finalizing a proposed employment contract while members of the Charter Review Commission simultaneously discuss possibly eliminating the job

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

Despite a previously announced timeline, the selection of a new city manager in Biddeford is roughly one month behind schedule.

Although city officials have remained tight-lipped about the ongoing negotiations and the identity of the final applicant, several of those involved in the hiring process admit that negotiations between the city and prospective manager have been a bit “awkward.”

According to Mayor Liam LaFountain, the city will likely announce who will be Biddeford’s sixth full-time manager within the next several days and the city council will likely confirm the hiring of that finalist during their meeting on Nov. 5.

Negotiations with a prospective city manager is not a foreign concept to Biddeford residents or city officials. Biddeford has had a city manager form of government since the mid-1990s, when Bruce Benway was hired as the city’s first professional manager.

Over the last 30 years, an additional five full-time managers and two interim managers have come and gone at City Hall, most notably the abrupt resignation earlier this year of Truc Dever — after only nine months on the job.

Dever was hired to replace the city’s most controversial city manager, James Bennett, who was ultimately forced from office by a groundswell of public opposition.

Bennett was the city’s longest serving manager, hired in 2015 and ousted roughly 10 years later.

The turnover in city managers is not exclusive to Biddeford, especially when compared to several other municipalities in Maine. During the same time period, the neighboring communities of Saco and Old Orchard Beach have had similar turnover rates when it comes to hiring and retaining a top administrator.

But the current hiring process is a bit unique, especially because city officials are negotiating with a potential manager while elected members of the Charter Review Commission are simultaneously engaging in rigorous public conversations about whether the city should continue to have a professional city manager.

The parallel tracks – trying to entice a top applicant to accept a position while other public officials are deliberating whether the position should even exist – has created what LaFountain describes a “somewhat tricky situation.”

“Obviously, when an applicant hears robust conversations about whether the job they’re applying for should be eliminated, it creates an added layer of concern for them,” LaFountain said.

Although the charter commission’s conversations have impacted the negotiations, LaFountain said he has “nothing but respect” for the charter commission and the work they are doing.

City Council President Roger Beaupre echoed LaFountain’s sentiments, saying the council needs to respect the process of the charter commission and its time-sensitive work.

“Is the timing less than ideal?” Beaupre asked rhetorically. “Yes, it is but we can’t control those conversations. The voters decided to seat a charter review commission and now those commissioners are doing the job they were elected to do, but it does not help the city’s negotiating position.

City Councilor Brad Cote said the city is doing everything possible to attract and hire the best candidate to become Biddeford’s next city manager, but also said that mission was already hard enough – even before the Charter Review Commission began discussing whether the city should have a professional manager.

“It’s not like we don’t have enough problems already,” Cote said, pointing to overdue audits, poor employee morale and several other troubling issues – many of which can be traced back to Bennett’s brash and controversial management style.

“We’re in a tough place now, and we all want to see a smooth transition and continue our work to get the city back on track,” Cote said. “It’s just unfortunate timing – but I think we can get through this.”

Divided opinions about the role of a city manager

. . .

Donald Gerrish, a Brunswick, Maine-based consultant, was hired in June to help the city find its next manager. As part of his work, Gerrish solicited public comment and surveyed city employees about what they want from their next manager.

Bennett’s name was frequently mentioned and many residents said they want a qualified city manager who can help “put the city back on track.”

Richard Rhames, a former city councilor, is a member of the Charter Review Commission, a role he’s served in previously.

Rhames has long been an outspoken critic of the city manager position, pointing to what he called a “weak city council” that failed to reign in Bennett until it could no longer be avoided.

Rhames says the city should have a CEO who is directly accountable to the voters, pointing to larger cities where “strong mayors” drive policy and effectively run the city.

Former City Councilor Norman Belanger is the chair of the charter review commission but was unavailable for comment at press time.

Sam Pecor, the commission’s vice chair, said he is feeling “more than frustrated” about the conversations regarding a city manager and how the city’s government should be structured.

“We should be at least somewhat sensitive to the city’s position,” Pecor said. “And we shouldn’t be having these important conversations so flippantly.”

Pecor said he is also frustrated that neither LaFountain or interim city manager Cornell Knight accepted an invitation to appear before the commission last week to provide insight and helpful testimony about how the city manager’s position is viewed by both the city council and members of the public.

“There’s been a lack of communication,” Pecor said. “And we’re having consequential conversations about the city’s future. It’s frustrating.”

The Charter Review Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday, Oct. 29, at Biddeford City Hall. LaFountain said he and Knight are planning to attend that meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

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