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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Biddeford City Council Budget Committee Meeting - May 12, 2026

City Council & Committees — Tuesday, May 12, 2026

BodyBiddeford, Maine

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateTuesday, May 12, 2026

StatusFILED

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Speaker 1

2:58

Good evening.

2:58

I will call the budget committee meeting for Tuesday, May twelfth to order.

3:03

Councillor Lassard and Council President Beaupre are excused.

3:07

All other members are present.

3:08

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

Thank you.

Speaker 2

5:29

Thank you, Mayor.

5:30

Um first of all, I'd like to say thank you.

5:33

Um actually for canceling last week.

5:35

I don't think we were right in the position where we were really prepared.

5:39

I really feel that we're much better off today, uh, for sure, as I can't thank Jerry and Nate and the city manager and Shelley enough for the help that they um definitely gave on getting this all together.

5:52

So um appreciate it for sure.

5:54

So thank

Unassigned speaker

5:54

you.

Unassigned speaker

5:55

Speaker 2

5:55

first of all, I think uh where we'd want to start is um 35102, which is really the heart of the budgets in the administration and where the revenues come in and all the sewer fees and all the revenue fees that we um bring in for this uh line.

6:12

Um here, this is the administration line.

6:15

Um you'll see a lot of changes happened in 35102 with the employees and a retirement and um switching um a half position over to the economic development um area.

6:29

So what that will give us is it'll give us half of that salary and the other half going down there to hopefully give us some traffic engineering and help us with some traffic issues that we're uh now seeing with the Safe Streets for All.

6:41

Um so I think that um position will definitely help us a lot in making up some decisions and uh moving forward with the safe streets.

Unassigned speaker

6:50

Speaker 2

6:50

so if you look at 35102 as a whole, you'll see it's at two uh two million four hundred and eighty-three six fifty-five.

6:57

Um there is an increase decrease in that budget.

7:00

Um again for the reasoning that I explained with all the switching over and everything going on in that budget line.

7:07

Um so I guess I'll open it up for questions on 35102 itself.

7:13

Um I did work on 35103, which is the enterprise fund.

7:17

Um that's for the nine outside um entities that we have, the businesses that we have that do um discharge to our collection system.

7:26

Um so they are in the industrial pretreatment program.

7:29

Uh we've been working closely with Wright Pierce, as you know, for that um enterprise fund.

7:34

So 35102 and 03 are really our revenue sources and how we take care of 35104 and 05, which is the collection system 04 and 05 being the two treatment plants in the holding tank.

7:46

Um so I will take any questions that you might have on 35102, as I know that's kind of big and there's probably some questions there.

7:53

Um what I'd like to say is we did reach out to Maine Water today.

7:56

I'll leave that conversation to Jerry.

7:58

Um, what we requested out of Maine Waters if we could have a tab of the revenue that we brought in for the last four months through their bill and cycle to kind of give us an idea what four months gives us.

8:10

You know, we can times by three just to give us an idea of where we might be.

8:13

It's not the true number for sure, but it kind of gave us a base to know where we were with the budgets that are going in.

8:20

So if Jerry wants to um throw anything into that conversation.

Unassigned speaker

8:27

Speaker 3

8:27

I did reach out to Pam and she gave us a uh report that included one year worth of activity.

8:35

Of course, it's not going to be the same activity, but she plans on billing the same amounts and the same amount of customers.

8:43

So her thought was about 3.6 million.

8:46

So that's the number that we went

Unassigned speaker

8:47

with.

Speaker 1

8:53

Questions for Director Demurs or Director Mathern as it relates to 35102 sewer operations.

Speaker 2

9:05

And the spreadsheets, I'm sorry, and the spreadsheets I sent out last week are just spreadsheets that I use internally.

9:11

So please don't use them.

9:12

They have nothing to do with MUNIS, nothing to do with the audits, it's just sheets that I use.

9:18

Um and I did send them forward that way.

9:20

We'd have something two weeks ago to actually look at.

9:23

Um, but the numbers that you have today are in Munis and them are the true numbers that we use for ordering purposes.

9:28

So it's very important that we all understand that.

Speaker 1

9:32

Counselor Woods.

Speaker 4

9:33

Very brave of you to say that in public.

9:36

Appreciate you.

9:37

Um I'm gonna do one of my like love to get the base level information.

9:43

Um I think the biggest one that I've kind of wondered generally is with us switching over to main water billing, like just like high-level understanding of like what that changed as far as how we do this, if that makes sense.

Speaker 2

9:57

Well, I think for me it changed a lot.

10:03

I just think it all makes sense.

10:04

I mean, Maine Water does all the bill in for the water usage, so it only makes sense that we're going to get accurate true numbers of the water usage being discharged into our collection system.

10:14

So for all the residents.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Water And Wastewater Management███████████████████████████████31%

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████████████30%

Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████20%

Budget Equity Analysis███████7%

Airport Management█████5%

Procedural███3%

Technology and Innovation███3%

Personnel Matters█1%

Summary of Proceedings

City of Biddeford Budget Committee Meeting Summary - May 12, 2026

The City of Biddeford Budget Committee met on May 12, 2026, to review the Fiscal Year 2027 enterprise and special revenue fund budgets. Councillor Lassard and Council President Beaupre were excused. The meeting covered the Wastewater, Airport, and Recreation Enterprise Funds, as well as the Mooring, Pool/Beach, and Shellfish Special Revenue Funds. Major discussion centered on the impact of global fuel prices, staffing shortages, the accuracy of revenue projections, and the long-term sustainability of these self-supporting accounts. No formal votes were taken.

Wastewater Enterprise Fund

Director Jeff Demers presented the wastewater fund budgets, highlighting substantial management changes.

Administration & Revenue (35102): Proposed budget of $2,483,655. The ongoing transition to Maine Water billing is expected to improve revenue accuracy, with Director Demers reporting an estimated $3.6 million in annual revenue from the utility. Half of an engineering position is being shifted to the economic development area to assist with traffic projects like Safe Streets for All. The drop in operating costs from $198,000 (FY26) to $68,500 (FY27) was attributed to salary shifts and retirement savings.
Industrial Pretreatment (35103): The program is being overhauled with consultant Wright Pierce to write a stronger enforcement ordinance. The goal of the $71,156 budget is to make the program cost-neutral for taxpayers. Director Demers proposed creating a new Compliance Officer position to manage the Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) program and support plant operations, aiming to have the hire overlap with Wright Pierce for training.
Collection System (35104): Proposed at $1,283,235 (a 7% increase). Director Demers warned that the current low diesel contract is expiring, and new fuel contracts will reflect current high rack prices. At Councilor Cody's request, the director agreed to re-evaluate fuel cost projections across all departments to provide more realistic figures. The budget includes upgrading flip phones to iPhones for better operational coordination.
Treatment Plants (35105): Proposed at $2,081,337. Success with CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) abatement projects is reducing inflow, allowing chemical and electricity costs to remain stable.
Sewer Permits & Debt Service: Sewer permit revenue was budgeted at $656,000, but Director Demers acknowledged it will likely exceed $1 million based on known projects (Divine, Lincoln). These funds are restricted by ordinance to CSO abatement work. Staff noted that anticipated bond proceeds will require adding ~$121,500 in debt service and interest.
Camera Truck: A $440,000 utility camera truck authorized last year was put on hold due to staffing capacity. Director Demers committed to seeking reauthorization in FY28 and will research current pricing. A request to replace a smaller lost handheld camera (approx. $18,000) is forthcoming.

Airport Enterprise Fund

Director Demers presented the airport budget, declaring it self-funding with a net positive of $4,900.

Budget & Revenue: The FY27 operating budget request is $157,788. Revenue from fuel sales is expected to exceed $95,000. The fund pays for its own grant matches from a dedicated line item.
Financial Management: The Airport Manager position was eliminated (saving ~$107,000 in salary), with duties absorbed by the Operations Manager. A $6,500 part-time wage line was retained as a contingency for one more year. The fund holds a small surplus that Director Demers described as its "piggy bank."
Future Revenue: The city is in negotiations to rent cold storage space to a mobile mechanic, which could generate an additional $15,000 per year.

Recreation Enterprise Fund

Director Thompson presented the recreation programs and the Recreation Revenue Fund.

Program Economics: All programs are designed to be self-supporting, with current enrollment at 70-80% capacity. To offset rising costs, Cub Care fees will increase by $25/month and summer camp by $50/summer.
Recreation Revenue Fund: The fund has an accumulated balance of roughly $200,000. Director Thompson proposed $118,000 in expenditures for FY27, including an EV charger, a new sound system, basketball hoops, a utility vehicle, and new TARPs for St. Louis Field.
Subsidy Discussion: A $10,000 subsidy for the Bolder Adults program was proposed to keep trips affordable for seniors on fixed incomes. Councilor Jodi questioned the accounting mechanism for the subsidy, suggesting the cost be absorbed directly into the program's line item to simplify tracking.

Other Special Revenue Funds

Finance Director Methurn presented the remaining special revenue funds.

Mooring Fund: Revenue is stable at $39,000 against roughly $40,000 in expenses, with a fund balance of ~$80,000. Costs for buoys and chains are rising. Councilor Watson raised a community request regarding a safety communication system for the islands. Councillor Woods clarified that Harbormaster conference costs had increased because both the Harbormaster and Assistant Harbormaster now attend.
Pool/Beach Fund: The fund is projected to run a deficit of roughly $25,000 in FY27, relying on its fund balance. No lifeguards will be stationed at Middle Beach this summer. A major discrepancy was noted in one-day non-resident parking permit revenue, with only $1,000 budgeted for FY27 compared to historical levels near $49,000. The Mayor and Councillor Pearson pressed for clarity, suggesting possible causes include coding errors in the new system, a shift in visitor demographics, or reduced Canadian tourism. Staff will investigate.
Shellfish Fund: This is a small fund with $9,000 in license revenue. Fee changes were noted, including a new fee for previously exempt senior license holders.

Key Outcomes

No Votes Taken: The meeting was deliberative; no formal motions or votes were held on the budgets.
Data Requests: Staff were directed to provide detailed fund balance histories, fuel cost projections adjusted for current market rates, and a breakout of beach parking permit revenues to identify the drop in one-day passes.
Next Steps: A follow-up committee meeting is expected to finalize adjustments. The enterprise and special revenue fund appropriations will require two readings at the regular City Council meetings in June.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I will call the budget committee meeting for Tuesday, May twelfth to order. Councillor Lassard and Council President Beaupre are excused. All other members are present. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Um first of all, I'd like to say thank you. Um actually for canceling last week. I don't think we were right in the position where we were really prepared. I really feel that we're much better off today, uh, for sure, as I can't thank Jerry and Nate and the city manager and Shelley enough for the help that they um definitely gave on getting this all together. So um appreciate it for sure. So thank you. Uh first of all, I think uh where we'd want to start is um 35102, which is really the heart of the budgets in the administration and where the revenues come in and all the sewer fees and all the revenue fees that we um bring in for this uh line. Um here, this is the administration line. Um you'll see a lot of changes happened in 35102 with the employees and a retirement and um switching um a half position over to the economic development um area. So what that will give us is it'll give us half of that salary and the other half going down there to hopefully give us some traffic engineering and help us with some traffic issues that we're uh now seeing with the Safe Streets for All. Um so I think that um position will definitely help us a lot in making up some decisions and uh moving forward with the safe streets. Um so if you look at 35102 as a whole, you'll see it's at two uh two million four hundred and eighty-three six fifty-five. Um there is an increase decrease in that budget. Um again for the reasoning that I explained with all the switching over and everything going on in that budget line. Um so I guess I'll open it up for questions on 35102 itself. Um I did work on 35103, which is the enterprise fund. Um that's for the nine outside um entities that we have, the businesses that we have that do um discharge to our collection system. Um so they are in the industrial pretreatment program. Uh we've been working closely with Wright Pierce, as you know, for that um enterprise fund. So 35102 and 03 are really our revenue sources and how we take care of 35104 and 05, which is the collection system 04 and 05 being the two treatment plants in the holding tank. Um so I will take any questions that you might have on 35102, as I know that's kind of big and there's probably some questions there. Um what I'd like to say is we did reach out to Maine Water today. I'll leave that conversation to Jerry. Um, what we requested out of Maine Waters if we could have a tab of the revenue that we brought in for the last four months through their bill and cycle to kind of give us an idea what four months gives us. You know, we can times by three just to give us an idea of where we might be. It's not the true number for sure, but it kind of gave us a base to know where we were with the budgets that are going in. So if Jerry wants to um throw anything into that conversation. So I did reach out to Pam and she gave us a uh report that included one year worth of activity. Of course, it's not going to be the same activity, but she plans on billing the same amounts and the same amount of customers. So her thought was about 3.6 million. So that's the number that we went with. Questions for Director Demurs or Director Mathern as it relates to 35102 sewer operations. And the spreadsheets, I'm sorry, and the spreadsheets I sent out last week are just spreadsheets that I use internally. So please don't use them. They have nothing to do with MUNIS, nothing to do with the audits, it's just sheets that I use. Um and I did send them forward that way. We'd have something two weeks ago to actually look at. Um, but the numbers that you have today are in Munis and them are the true numbers that we use for ordering purposes.

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City of Biddeford Budget Committee Meeting Summary - May 12, 2026

Wastewater Enterprise Fund

Director Jeff Demers presented the wastewater fund budgets, highlighting substantial management changes.

Administration & Revenue (35102): Proposed budget of $2,483,655. The ongoing transition to Maine Water billing is expected to improve revenue accuracy, with Director Demers reporting an estimated $3.6 million in annual revenue from the utility. Half of an engineering position is being shifted to the economic development area to assist with traffic projects like Safe Streets for All. The drop in operating costs from $198,000 (FY26) to $68,500 (FY27) was attributed to salary shifts and retirement savings.

Industrial Pretreatment (35103): The program is being overhauled with consultant Wright Pierce to write a stronger enforcement ordinance. The goal of the $71,156 budget is to make the program cost-neutral for taxpayers. Director Demers proposed creating a new Compliance Officer position to manage the Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) program and support plant operations, aiming to have the hire overlap with Wright Pierce for training.

Collection System (35104): Proposed at $1,283,235 (a 7% increase). Director Demers warned that the current low diesel contract is expiring, and new fuel contracts will reflect current high rack prices. At Councilor Cody's request, the director agreed to re-evaluate fuel cost projections across all departments to provide more realistic figures. The budget includes upgrading flip phones to iPhones for better operational coordination.

Treatment Plants (35105): Proposed at $2,081,337. Success with CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) abatement projects is reducing inflow, allowing chemical and electricity costs to remain stable.

Sewer Permits & Debt Service: Sewer permit revenue was budgeted at $656,000, but Director Demers acknowledged it will likely exceed $1 million based on known projects (Divine, Lincoln). These funds are restricted by ordinance to CSO abatement work. Staff noted that anticipated bond proceeds will require adding ~$121,500 in debt service and interest.

Camera Truck: A $440,000 utility camera truck authorized last year was put on hold due to staffing capacity. Director Demers committed to seeking reauthorization in FY28 and will research current pricing. A request to replace a smaller lost handheld camera (approx. $18,000) is forthcoming.

Airport Enterprise Fund

Director Demers presented the airport budget, declaring it self-funding with a net positive of $4,900.

Budget & Revenue: The FY27 operating budget request is $157,788. Revenue from fuel sales is expected to exceed $95,000. The fund pays for its own grant matches from a dedicated line item.

Financial Management: The Airport Manager position was eliminated (saving ~$107,000 in salary), with duties absorbed by the Operations Manager. A $6,500 part-time wage line was retained as a contingency for one more year. The fund holds a small surplus that Director Demers described as its "piggy bank."

Future Revenue: The city is in negotiations to rent cold storage space to a mobile mechanic, which could generate an additional $15,000 per year.

Recreation Enterprise Fund

Director Thompson presented the recreation programs and the Recreation Revenue Fund.

Program Economics: All programs are designed to be self-supporting, with current enrollment at 70-80% capacity. To offset rising costs, Cub Care fees will increase by $25/month and summer camp by $50/summer.

Recreation Revenue Fund: The fund has an accumulated balance of roughly $200,000. Director Thompson proposed $118,000 in expenditures for FY27, including an EV charger, a new sound system, basketball hoops, a utility vehicle, and new TARPs for St. Louis Field.

Subsidy Discussion: A $10,000 subsidy for the Bolder Adults program was proposed to keep trips affordable for seniors on fixed incomes. Councilor Jodi questioned the accounting mechanism for the subsidy, suggesting the cost be absorbed directly into the program's line item to simplify tracking.

Other Special Revenue Funds

Finance Director Methurn presented the remaining special revenue funds.

Mooring Fund: Revenue is stable at $39,000 against roughly $40,000 in expenses, with a fund balance of ~$80,000. Costs for buoys and chains are rising. Councilor Watson raised a community request regarding a safety communication system for the islands. Councillor Woods clarified that Harbormaster conference costs had increased because both the Harbormaster and Assistant Harbormaster now attend.

Pool/Beach Fund: The fund is projected to run a deficit of roughly $25,000 in FY27, relying on its fund balance. No lifeguards will be stationed at Middle Beach this summer. A major discrepancy was noted in one-day non-resident parking permit revenue, with only $1,000 budgeted for FY27 compared to historical levels near $49,000. The Mayor and Councillor Pearson pressed for clarity, suggesting possible causes include coding errors in the new system, a shift in visitor demographics, or reduced Canadian tourism. Staff will investigate.

Shellfish Fund: This is a small fund with $9,000 in license revenue. Fee changes were noted, including a new fee for previously exempt senior license holders.

Key Outcomes

No Votes Taken: The meeting was deliberative; no formal motions or votes were held on the budgets.

Data Requests: Staff were directed to provide detailed fund balance histories, fuel cost projections adjusted for current market rates, and a breakout of beach parking permit revenues to identify the drop in one-day passes.

Next Steps: A follow-up committee meeting is expected to finalize adjustments. The enterprise and special revenue fund appropriations will require two readings at the regular City Council meetings in June.

Meeting Transcript