All Articles

“In all likelihood we are looking at another 5% to 6% [tax] increase”. - Marc Lessard, City Councilor At-Large At-Large Councilor Marc Lessard (Biddeford) January 9, 2026, City Councilor At-Large Marc Lessard was first elected to the Biddeford City Council in 1993 and has since been reelected for 11 terms. With his family having lived in Biddeford for 6 generations, it’s safe to say that he has deep roots in the community. Throughout Councilor Lessard’s tenure on the City Cou

📰BIDDEFORD | Councilors Praise Police Chief for Partnering with City of Saco | Council Approves Contract “We miss too many opportunities to work with our neighbors from Saco… I offer praise to you and your team for working with them.” Jacob Pierson, Ward 6 Councilor January 6, 2026, At tonight's city council meeting, Biddeford Police Chief JoAnne Fisk asked City Councilors to approve a contract between the City of Saco and City of Biddeford pertaining to the purchase of new

December 19, 2025, The City of Biddeford will receive sealed bids for the Alfred Street Sewer Separation Phase 3 Project until 2:00 p.m. prevailing local time on January 22nd, 2026 at the Biddeford City Hall, 205 Main Street, 3rd floor – Engineering Dept., Biddeford, Maine 04005. Bid documents shall be in clearly marked sealed envelopes titled Alfred Street Sewer Separation Phase 3 Project. All bids will be opened and read aloud at the Biddeford City Hall at 2:00 pm on Janu

Please note, some local sources are incorrectly referring to this committee - THIS IS A INSTITUTIONAL ZONE REVIEW COMMITTEE, NOT A "UNE REVIEW COMMITTEE". December 18, 2025, On Tuesday, the City Council authorized the creation of an ad hoc Institutional Zone Review Committee. This committee was formed for the purpose of reviewing all Institutional Zone provisions of the Biddeford Zoning Ordinance, including but not limited to the Institutional Zone and the Institutional Maste

December 17, 2025, Biddeford wastewater customers can now expect to receive their wastewater bills reliably and predictably from Maine Water. Recently, the city transitioned to leveraging Maine Water's billing and customer service expertise to stabilize the administrative processes for sewer billing. The city contracted Maine Water Company to handle all billing, collection and customer service inquiries for the city’s wastewater operations. The complex changeover required mig

December 4, 2025, The Saco School Department and City of Saco marked a historic milestone today as families, city officials, students, educators, and construction partners gathered for the official groundbreaking of its transformative new PreK–5 school campus, representing the long-awaited transformation of the district’s elementary learning environments. (L-R) Saco School Department Assistant Superintendent Meg Parkhurst, City of Saco’s City Council member Jeffrey Onnen, Cou

📰BIDDEFORD | UNE Responds to City’s Litigation December, 4, 2025, The following message was recieved from the University of New England regarding the City of Biddeford’s litigation pertaining to the UNE Pier. "The University of New England is aware of the City's litigation against the Saco River Corridor Commission. UNE respectfully disagrees with the City's position. As the Saco River Corridor Commission confirmed after seeking counsel from their lawyer at the Maine Attorne

📰BIDDEFORD | City of Biddeford Files Court Challenge for UNE Pier Approval BIDDEFORD, Maine (December 4, 2025) — The City of Biddeford has filed a Complaint for Review of Final Agency Action in Maine Superior Court seeking a judicial determination that the Saco River Corridor Commission's (SRCC) 2024 approval of a new pier at the University of New England (UNE) is unlawful and invalid. The filing asserts that the SRCC did not apply a binding 2001 permit condition requiring a

November 25, 2025, This morning, city hall personnel confirmed that Brian Phinney, Biddeford's Chief Operating Officer (COO), has formally announced his intended retirement from public service effective January 15, 2026. "Brian has been a huge help to me since I joined the City a few months ago, said City Manager Truc Dever." Dever went on to say, "I appreciate all that he has done for the City of Biddeford and for this community. I wish him all the best in retirement." In a

November 21, 2025, This past Sunday November 16th was the 2025 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It’s an annual international day to remember those who have been killed on our roads and streets in the past year. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has publicly stated that so far in 2025 Maine has seen 209 crashes involving pedestrians resulting in 40 serious injuries and 19 fatalities. Our state has also seen 198 crashes involving bicyclists resulting in 29 seriou

Have you ever had someone come up to you and question you about something, and rather than answer the question, you think, “who are you to even be asking me this?”...  Well, in the most anecdotal fashion, that’s exactly what happened at tonight’s UNE Pier appeal hearing; according to the Zoning Board of Appeals and city procedure, the individuals who filed the appeal, can not legally be recognized (qualified) as appellants, therefore, the appeal was denied. November 13, 2025,

Bobby Mills November 6, 2025, I am filled with pride for the remarkable turnout in the recent election held in Biddeford on Tuesday. This city holds a special place in my heart, and I cherish it deeply. My family and I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous extraordinary opportunities that we could never have imagined. While it is true that there were winners and losers in the election, we all played a crucial role in shaping the future of our community. I am parti

Opinion: Why It’s So Important that Question 1 Failed By Ian Garcia-Theriault November 5, 2025, Maine voters recently rejected Question 1, which would have required voter ID and rolled back parts of our absentee voting system. I’m relieved it failed—not because I oppose secure elections, but because I see it as the first step down a very familiar slippery slope. Biddeford voters wait in line to drop off completed ballots On the surface, voter ID feels like common sense. We sh

November 3, 2025, Did you receive a suspicious invoice that appears to be from the City of Biddeford Planning Board? According to the Biddeford Police Department, that invoice is not real and is a scam. The Biddeford Police are asking residents TO NOT PAY that invoice. The City of Biddeford has been made aware of fraudulent attempts to extract money from Biddeford residents and businesses who have recently submitted applications to the Planning Board. In this scam, the victim

📰SACO | EXIT 35 - Now Open! November 3, 2025, Maine Turnpike Authority's first new exit in more than 20 years is designed to improve connections to and from the Turnpike, providing easier Turnpike access to westerly traffic, reducing peak travel congestion along Route 112 and Industrial Park Road, and reducing traffic at Exit 36. There have been traffic delays this morning due to signal timing at the Exit 35 on- and off- ramps. Maine Turnpike has informed the City that their

Opinion: Biddeford Needs Leadership That Puts Accountability First By Loren McCready November 3, 2025, With Tuesday’s election approaching, the issue on nearly everyone’s mind is the cost of living, especially housing. It’s also the subject most candidates have been pressed to address. Mayor Marty Grohman’s recent column offered a confident vision of Biddeford’s future: rapid growth, new housing, and economic momentum. But his portrayal of an opponent as anti-development and

📰BIDDEFORD | Speaker Ryan Fecteau Endorses Liam LaFountain for Mayor November 2, 2025, Earlier this evening Speaker Ryan Fecteau publicly announced his endorsement for Biddeford Mayoral Candidate Liam LaFountain. Below is Speaker Fecteau's statement: ***I am supporting Council President Liam LaFountain for Mayor.*** I wasn't planning to offer public support for any of the mayoral candidates, but I read a write-up today that was entirely unfair in regards to Liam's record. So

Interviewer: "So right now, if we get a really heavy rain, there's the possibility that sewerage could overflow and end up in the river?" Answer: "That is correct." - Jeff Demers, Director, Biddeford Public Works November 2, 2025, This past week The Biddeford Buzz, along with WGME CBS 13 News, Portland, and Spectrum News Maine, were invited by the City of Biddeford Government to tour the various sewage facilities and learn more about the upcoming sewer bond (Question 1) that

-Mayor Marty Grohman Takes Jabs at Mayoral Opponent Liam LaFountain... Little to No Mentioning of opponent Norm Belanger- "It’s disingenuous for my opponent [Liam LaFountain], who is the Council President, to now claim that he’s pro-business, when he has relentlessly driven up the costs of business: like making it cost ten thousand bucks to hook up a sink." - Marty Grohman By MARTY GROHMAN - November 2, 2025, In Biddeford, the mayor doesn’t have a vote. The Council has all th