Open Government

Transparency Is Essential to Effective Government

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. The primary vehicle for this is the City’s website. The website is updated regularly, serves as a repository for public documents, records, and information, including financial information, City reports, budget details, and meeting records. 

Message from the City Manager

The City of Biddeford is committed to open government and transparency. We will continue to promote openness and public participation in local government, recognizing that transparency is the foundation of public trust - James Bennett, City Manager.

Transparency Checklist

Sunshine Review, a former nonprofit organization now operating as Ballotpedia, advocates for increased government transparency. The organization publishes a 10-point "Transparency Checklist" to gauge a community’s website transparency. The City of Biddeford uses the Checklist as a model for the Open Government platform.  The Checklist includes the following subject areas:

  1. Elected Officials and Appointed Officials, and Elections
  2. Administrative Officials
  3. Meeting Information
  4. Budget Information
  5. Audit Information
  6. Local Tax Information
  7. Permits and Zoning
  8. Public Records and FOAA Requests
  9. RFPs, RFQs, RFBs and Municipal Contracts
  10. Lobbying and Advocacy Information

This section of the website is intended to provide direct access to this information in as few clicks as possible.