City Council Update: April 14-16, 2025

Disclaimer: The views I express here are my own and should NOT be construed as speaking for the City of Bangor or the City Council of Bangor.

April 14, 2025

City Council Workshop

You can view the meeting agenda here.

1. Encampment Closure Update  

• Bangor’s Homeless Response Manager provided the final update on the encampment closure near Cleveland Street and Texas Ave.  
• As of April 2nd, the last person moved out of the encampment and into housing.  
• Out of 96 individuals tracked, 28 were moved into housing (though 3 later exited), 1 reunified with supports, 1 entered sober living, some went to emergency shelters, and others to informal arrangements like couch surfing.  
• 36 individuals left under unknown circumstances, potentially remaining unsheltered.  
• The closure involved significant collaboration with outreach workers, case managers, and housing navigators focusing on relationship building and barrier breaking.  
• Efforts are ongoing to support those housed and continue outreach to those still unsheltered, ensuring they know support is still available.  
• The team is looking to scale up successful barrier-breaking policies community-wide.  

2. Inflow Working Group & Unsheltered Homelessness Response

• A new “inflow working group” has started, including the library, hospitals, jail, PD, and fire department, to better coordinate services for unhoused individuals, especially those outside the traditional service system.  
• The group aims to improve how interactions with unhoused individuals lead to appropriate services.  
• There’s a focus on managing expectations for individuals coming to Bangor seeking services, as immediate housing is often not realistic.  
• Concerns were raised about the increased number of people, including unhoused individuals, congregating around the library and Pierce Park.  
• The city is working with the library director and engaging outreach workers to address challenges and ensure the library remains accessible.  
• A request was made for data on the origin of the unhoused population, which will be gathered and reported back.  

3. Downtown Business Concerns

• The Downtown Bangor Partnership raised concerns about escalating behaviors.  
• The City Manager discussed creating clearer guidelines for businesses and the public on how to respond to different situations and who to contact (e.g., StreetPlus, Police Department).  
• The effectiveness of StreetPlus and other initiatives was questioned, given ongoing issues. The loss of the low-barrier drop-in space (Heart Center) was noted as a contributing factor.  
• The rationale for funding Street Plus was partly to reduce the burden on highly paid police officers dealing with issues below their expertise.  
• I suggested looking for ways to replace the drop-in center concept as a potential way to help alleviate pressure downtown.  

4. FY2026 City Manager Recommended Budget  

• The City Manager presented the recommended budget.  
• Personnel costs make up 67% of the budget and are the main driver of increases.  
• Non-property tax revenues increased, including over $1 million more in state revenue sharing and increases in charges for services.  
• Money from a benefits reserve was used to offset the final $2.5 million payment on a 30-year pension obligation bond, providing some taxpayer relief.  
• The budget includes a 5-year capital plan for equipment, technology, infrastructure (like roads), and facilities.  
• The overall tax ask increase is 2.8%, but due to residential property values rising faster (approx. 10%) than commercial (approx. 4%), the estimated tax rate will drop slightly (-55 cents or 3%), but the average residential homeowner could see a ~7.5% tax increase.  
• Achieving a flat tax impact for homeowners would require $4.8 million in revenue increases or spending cuts.  
• The budget supports various initiatives: comprehensive plan implementation, housing development, parks/rec improvements, homeless response evolution, transit, road improvements, airport projects, economic development marketing, wastewater capacity, and technology upgrades.  

5. Legislative Update  

• Support was indicated for LD 351 (bond for Airport warehouse), LD 1417 (strengthening dangerous/nuisance building enforcement), LD 1451 (coordinating community transportation), and LD 1530 (allowing billing for non-transporting EMS calls).  
• An update was provided on LD 901 regarding the Bangor Mall: Senator Baldacci will amend it to a resolve directing the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank to work with the city on the property.  

6. City Manager Updates  

• A minor loss in grant funding occurred due to federal/state changes, but with no current staffing impact.  
• New federal grant agreements reflect current administration priorities but don’t significantly impact city operations.  
• Upcoming workshop topics include opioid settlement funds (April 28th), city council guidelines review (April 28th), and an ARPA update (early May).  
• I expressed that I felt we needed to expedite the ordinance for the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee.  

7. Executive Session  

• The council voted to enter an executive session to discuss labor contracts (AFSCME) for several Bangor International Airport (BIA) employee groups.

Regular City Council Meeting

You can view the meeting agenda here.

At the beginning of the meeting it was my honor to read the City Council’s Proclamation that April 21-25, 2025 is Community Development Week. I presented the Proclamation to our Community & Economic Development Director Anne Krieg. Our Community & Economic Development team is constantly looking for ways to improve Bangor and attract more investment, and one of the tools they have available is the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). These are federal dollars that can be used in a number of ways to create housing, create jobs, improve public facilities, and more. Learn more about the program by clicking here. You can learn more about the work that Bangor’s Community & Economic Development Team is doing by clicking here.

I was assigned Order 25-113, “Authorizing an Amendment to Bangor Housing Development Corporation’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Award.” It passed as part of the Consent Agenda. This order amended the Bangor Housing Development Corporation’s ARPA funding agreement for its Sunset Avenue senior housing project. The change aligns the agreement with final financing terms from Maine State Housing, requiring all units to be rented at or below 60% of the area median income, instead of the originally anticipated mix of 50% and 60% levels.

I was also assigned Ordinance 25-119, “Amending the Code of Ordinances to Clarify that
Roberts Rules of Order Apply Only to the Council and Boards, Committees and Commissions With Decision-Making Authority (First Reading).” The City Charter requires that it be read on two separate occasions before it can be voted into law. Tonight was only the first reading. You can learn more about the discussion over this item from my April 7th update.

Last but not least I was assigned Orders 25-127 and 25-128, both directing the City Manager to take possession of vacant land on Gillman Road.

Much of the agenda was formalizing items that had been discussed previously in committees.

The end of the meeting dealt with some demolition orders. While it’s always sad when a demolition has to be authorized, one in particular was especially tragic. Someone’s family home, lost to fire. And now, nothing left but a dangerous building that had to come down for safety reasons. City Council is faced with many tough choices, but this one felt especially heartbreaking. I believe the safety of all residents of Bangor must come first, and the last thing anybody wants is one tragedy to cause another tragedy, such as kids sneaking into an unsafe building and being hurt or worse by debris or collapsing structure. I, along with City Council, voted to authorize the demolition. My thoughts and my heart go out to the property owner and her family.

April 15, 2025

City Council Workshop

This was an executive session regarding a personnel matter. I am bound by confidentiality.

April 16, 2025

City Council Workshop

You can view the agenda for this meeting here.

This was to be a joint meeting between the Bangor City Council and the Bangor School Committee. Due to a miscommunication the School Committee was not in attendance. Bangor Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Robinson was on hand to give a presentation of the Bangor School Budget, however some members of City Council felt it best if we had the full School Committee in attendance to field any questions Council might have. A motion was made and seconded to reschedule. As this was a reasonable request, I did not object. The motion to reschedule passed. The new date will be announced once it is set.

The video below is the motion and adjournment of the meeting.

The biggest things from this week for me:

1. The Budget. Now that it’s been presented, City Council has work to do. The budget, as presented, projects a tax increase. I’ve heard from so many of you who have told me recent property tax increases have already pushed you to your breaking point. This will be top-of-mind for me as we work through budget issues.
2. Opioid Settlement Committee. I asked for it to be expedited, and staff answered the call. We’ll be looking at the outline for it next week.
3. Inflow Working Group. Coordination of assistance and services has been a big topic I’ve been hearing about for the last few years regarding homelessness. I was happy to hear from our Homeless Response Manager that this is something in the process of being addressed.
4. Camp Hope closure. We should celebrate 25 people still remaining in housing. But there are 36 who are left the encampment that are unaccounted for. What will the repercussions be in regards to our ongoing HIV outbreak? As the outbreak has been traced back to this encampment, how many of the 36 are infected with HIV, unable to access treatment, and may lack the education on how to prevent spreading it to others? I know our talented Public Health officials will continue to track this outbreak and do everything they can to mitigate the impact. This has been a difficult situation for our community to work through. Bangor can not address the issue of homelessness alone. As we go forward, I would like to see the city take all of the new lessons we’ve learned from this closure experience and use it to work with our surrounding communities, our county, and our state to create a better way of addressing this crisis together.
5. Community & Economic Development. I feel like their work could be celebrated more. Bangor is lucky to have such talented individuals who are working on ways to improve the city for all of us. They’re attracting new businesses. They’re getting vacant spaces activated. That means more jobs, a stronger economy, and more revenue to invest in our city’s needs… which can mean lower property taxes for all of us in the future.

It’s always wonderful to hear from residents across Bangor. What is the city getting right? What would you like to see improved? How can I serve you better as a City Councilor? Email me at michael.beck@bangormaine.gov and let me know.