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Record of Proceedings
Biddeford City Council Special Meeting: FY27 School Budget Second Readings (May 7, 2026)
City Council & Committees — Thursday, May 7, 2026
BodyBiddeford, Maine
SessionCity Council & Committees
DateThursday, May 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Transcript — Verbatim
Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis50%
Procedural40%
Community Engagement10%
Summary of Proceedings
Biddeford City Council Special Meeting: FY27 School Budget Second Readings (May 7, 2026)
The Biddeford City Council held a special meeting on May 7, 2026 at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers and via Teams. The main order of business was the second reading and approval of the Fiscal Year 2027 School Budget items. The council passed five school budget orders unanimously, with a minor correction to one order. Additionally, the council approved an order regarding Greg L’Heureux’s CPA/Financial Services and made several announcements. No public comments were made.
Second Reading: School Budget Orders
The council considered and approved several second reading orders for the FY27 school budget. The transcript shows votes on five orders; a sixth order (School Appropriations, 2026.54) was listed on the agenda but is not separately recorded in the transcript; it may have been passed earlier or as part of a consent item.
- School Essential Programs and Services (Order 2026.59): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Councillor Boston confirmed the amounts: $39,874,902 total appropriation and $23,548,964 from the city. Approved unanimously.
- School Additional Funds Raised (Order 2026.60): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Councillor Boston moved an amendment to correct a typographical error, reducing the local allocation by $1 million from $5,186,601 to $4,186,601. The amendment was seconded and passed unanimously, followed by unanimous approval of the order as amended. Superintendent Ray acknowledged the formula error.
- School Food Service (Order 2026.61): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Approved unanimously.
- School Construction Projects (Order 2026.62): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Approved unanimously.
- Adult Education (Order 2026.63): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Approved unanimously.
Orders of the Day
- Approval of Greg L’Heureux’s CPA/Financial Services (Order 2026.76): Moved by Councillor Doughty, seconded by Councillor Lassard. Approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- The council approved all considered school budget second readings, which will appear on the June 9, 2026 ballot. Absentee ballots are available.
- The appointment of Greg L’Heureux’s CPA/Financial Services was approved.
- No public comments were made.
- Council President Beaupre was excused; Councillor Woods participated via Teams.
Announcements
- The municipal budget will be on the May 19, 2026 council agenda.
- The FY27 budget book is available on the city website.
- An event at RIFT/near 319 Main Street was ongoing for community engagement to rename that park.
- City Theater’s 'The Cemetery Club' opened that week.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I will call the special City Council meeting of May seventh, twenty twenty six to order. Council President Beaupre is excused. Councillor Woods is joining us on Teams. All other members are present. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. And as a reminder, we pass the first readings on Tuesday. The second readings are here on Thursday, so we can meet the timeliness for the state referendum for school budgets, which is June 9th in the city of Bedford. Councillor Pearson, second by Councillor Lassard. Any discussion. FY27. Budget. So move to second. Move by Councillor Dowdy. Second by Councillor Lasard. Out to the public for any comments on this appropriation. This would be, yes, we're on 3C, School Essential Programs and Services. Back to the Council. Councilor Boston. Just a question, because we're not reading the the uh amounts here. So this is for 39,874902. Am I looking at the right order? 2026.59. No. Is it ordered 2026.59? That's what I have for school essential service programs and services. I just want to make sure that I'm looking at the Yes. So the numbers for that are uh services funding act to be 39,800 39,874,902. And the City of Bedford does appropriate and will raise the sum of 23,548,964. Okay. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Counselor Woods? Yes. That is unanimous. Thank you. That brings us to 3D, which is approval school additional funds raised FY27. So moved to second. Moved by Councillor Doughty, second by Councilor Lasard, out to the public for any comments on this appropriation. Back to the council. Councilor Boston. Yeah, just um. I've already spoken to a couple. We all got this correction from the superintendent at the beginning of the last meeting because the local allocation line number didn't match the order, but there should have also been a correction on the order that the additional local is 4,18600, not 5,186, which we've voted. So I'm recommending an amendment that we reduce this number by $1 million as a correction.
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