All Along the Watchtower: Public participation

No one seems to know exactly why, but public participation in Biddeford’s municipal government has been steadily declining over the past few years.

Some say it’s because of the COVID pandemic. Others say it’s because of less media attention; and still others say it could be apathy, cynicism or the increasing use of technology, which includes the city’s website, social media and the ability to “attend” city meetings via ZOOM.

What do I think? I think 99 percent of Biddeford residents could not care less about local government, unless some particular issue jumps right up and bites them in the ass.

To the city’s credit, both elected and non-elected officials are committed to “transparency, public input, diversity, inclusion” and all sorts of other words that are intended to make us all feel warm and fuzzy as we signal our virtue to the rest of the world.

If you don’t believe me, check the city’s website. There is an entire section devoted to the concept of “open government:” The city of Biddeford is committed to open government, transparency and public participation,” reads the web page. “City Manager James Bennett, Mayor Alan Casavant, and the Biddeford City Council strive to make information readily available to the public on a daily basis.”

And just in case you are unable to digest that sentence, the city manager provides the beginning of the very next paragraph as follows: “The City of Biddeford is committed to open government, transparency and public participation. City Manager James Bennett, Mayor Alan Casavant, and the Biddeford City Council strive to make information readily available to the public on a daily basis.”

In the song Psycho Killer, David Byrne of the Talking Heads once opined, “say something once, why say it again?” Well, apparently somebody at Biddeford City Hall really, really, really wants you to know how open and transparent they are. Right. Try this: try reaching the city manager, the city’s diversity coordinator or the community development coordinator (yes, those are real taxpayer-funded positions) on the phone. Good luck. Odds are, you will need to leave a voicemail message.

Despite all the best efforts of those who work and play at City Hall, none of these open government endeavors have really made much of a dent in increasing overall public participation. The city is knocking itself out trying to be more inclusive and responsive to a public that apparently doesn’t care.

Beyond the city’s web site, social media tools such as Facebook, the city manager’s “Biddeford Beat” updates and the periodic and painfully long-winded e-mail blasts from Mayor Alan Casavant, the public, for the most part, basically shrugs and says, “so what?”

If all of our best efforts to increase public participation are not working, how do we get the public more involved? Well some genius somewhere decided, “Hey, wait . . . I know! If people are not attending public meetings, let’s create some more public meetings on a smaller scale!”

Brilliant! Look, I get that the city has the best of intentions, but can anyone tell me what the Community Development Coordinator actually does to earn a paycheck every two weeks, or why our Diversity and Inclusion director has not been able to increase (in any meaningful or measured way) diversity or inclusion in city government or public participation?

Move along, please. Nothing to see here, folks.

So, now each of the seven city ward councilors will be hosting an individual “Ward Meetings” for their constituents over the next few weeks. Luckily, At-Large Councilors Marc Lessard and Doris Ortiz dodged this particular bullet.

According to a press release, “the goal of the meetings, which are organized by the City’s Citizens Advisory Committee and the Community Development Coordinator, is to encourage neighborhood-based engagement.”

What the hell is “neighborhood-based engagement?” And what does the city’s “Citizen Advisory Committee” do, other than capitalizing words that should not be capitalized?

“Our vision for these meetings is to help neighbors get to know each other and build neighborhood groups of their own,” writes Abigail Smallwood, Biddeford’s Community Development Coordinator, in a press release. “By opening up more opportunities for input and sharing information on how to keep in touch with elected officials and public engagement staff, we hope that residents are able to stay connected with us well beyond the meetings.”

Yeah, good luck with that.

For your convenience, I have included a list of these meeting times and places at the bottom of this rant. I did contact a few city councilors and the mayor about these upcoming meetings. No one is expecting anything close to vibrant public participation. But let’s soldier on because “neighborhood engagement” is cool and really worthy of our time and tax dollars.

How the hell did we survive and thrive as a community before offering Zoom meetings, a diversity and inclusion committee and a community development committee?

The old days

Sweet Jesus, I recall the heady days of Biddeford government, when almost every city council meeting was packed with citizens champing at the bit (yes, it’s champing, not chomping) to have their five minutes of fame at the public podium. Back then, you might actually want to watch the city’s public access television broadcasts.

I’m talking about the late ‘90s and the earliest years of the new millennium. In those days, reporters like me actually attended the meetings in person. Today, the sight of a reporter at City Hall is rare. In fact, according to Mayor Alan Casavant, public participation in this year’s budget debate was virtually non-existent, save for a couple of e-mails.

Back in the day, there would be a line of citizens, not so patiently waiting to lambaste the council about the budget and all sorts of other issues. I really miss those days; the creak of the floorboards outside the council chambers; the stoic presence of City Manager Bruce Benway; the fury of Ron Peaker (as both a citizen and councilor); the need for use of the gavel on a regular basis and the fierce competition between members of the press.

What happened? Where have those days gone? Is city government better now? I don’t know, but the last city election results don’t paint a bright future for public participation. In the last election, only one of the city’s nine council seats was contested. Worse yet, none of the school board seats were contested. Yawn.

We don’t need to worry about diversity. We need to worry about participation, otherwise government can just roll onward, unimpeded in pursuit of more feel-good measures and the ever increasing size and scope of government. You reap what you sow.

“We are trying so many things to solicit public input, but it’s like we keep calling and calling and no one is answering the phone,” said Mayor Casavant.

As promised, here is the list of meeting times and locations. Hope to see you there!

·         • Monday, Sept 26 – Ward 1 – First Parish Meetinghouse (7 Meeting House Road)

·        • Thursday, Sept 29 – Ward 7 – TJ’s Pizza (366 Elm St.)

·         • Thursday, Oct 6 – Ward 2 – Congregation Etz Chaim (36 Bacon St.)

·        •  Thursday, Oct 13 – Ward 5 – Engine (163 Main St.)

·         • Monday, Oct 17 – Ward 3 – Biddeford Municipal Airport (88 Landry St.)

·         • Thursday, Oct 20 – Ward 6 – Biddeford High School (20 Maplewood Ave.)

·         • Monday, Oct 24 – Ward 4 – J. Richard Martin Community Center (189 Alfred St.)

For more information about the meetings, contact Abigail Smallwood, Community Development Coordinator, at 207-284-9115 or by email at abigail.smallwood@biddefordmaine.org.