A Maine city councilor was caught in an embarrassing hot mic moment complaining about 'illegals' in his community.  

Bangor City Councilor Wayne Mallar spoke on Tuesday during discussions of a proposed budget increase for multilingual services in local schools at a Board of Ethics meeting.

'The school department’s asking for a 10 percent increase. As far as I’m concerned, they get no increase,' he said, per Bangor Daily News. 

'They can’t speak English, read English or write English. It’s not a disability. We do not have to furnish. They’re probably all illegals anyway. That’s what the cultural center is supposed to be doing.' 

Mallar reportedly made the comments during a break in the meeting while other board members were out of the room. 

He spoke to a city staff member who was unfortunately seated next to several microphones. Little did Mallar know his words were broadcast on the meeting's livestream.

The budget proposal would include a 6.43 percent increase in funding for second-language learning programs, allowing the department to hire an additional teacher. 

Maine's Department of Education requires public schools to teach English to non-native speakers under multiple state and federal laws. Failing to do so could be classified as discrimination.

According to the Department of Education, approximately 5.4 percent of Bangor's students are multilingual.

The Bangor 2024 census concluded that seven percent of residents speak a language other than English at home. Six percent of the population was born in another country.

Despite the public backlash, Mallar stood by his comments in an interview the following day. 

'Why are we teaching English as a second language and taking away from teaching English to our regular citizens?' he told the outlet.

'It seems we’re spending too much time on the homeless and the illegals and disregarding the citizenry. I don’t believe most of the illegals pay taxes, property taxes anyway.'

Mallar stated that he did not know his words were broadcast on the meeting's livestream and they 'shouldn't have been.' 

Still, he proudly argued that cultural centers in Bangor should be used to teach English to the city's immigrants instead. 

Mallar went as far as to say that allocating money toward multilingual services could harm the rest of the community. 

'The senior citizens won’t be able to afford their houses, which no one seems to care about,' he said.

School Committee's Chair Timothy Surrette called Mallar's comments 'false, hateful and deeply harmful to our multilingual learners and their families here in Bangor.'

Other members of the council, including Susan Faloon and Michael Beck, condemned their fellow councilor's statements, reported WABI.  

'I would say that the comments that he made definitely do not reflect my values and I don’t believe they reflect the values of our community either,' Faloon told the outlet. 'I think that we as councilors do need to be held to a higher standard.'

'I’m disappointed by any rhetoric that relies on harmful stereotypes to dismiss the needs of our neighbors,' Beck added in a statement. 

'Our city is at its best when we treat every family with dignity, and I look forward to a budget process that reflects those values.'

Mallar was under the microscope during Tuesday's meeting to determine whether he had violated the city's ethics code during a Historic Preservation Commission meeting in August. 

According to the board, Mallar made inappropriate comments during recess of the meeting eight months prior. He allegedly attempted to influence the commission's decision on a slate roof replacement.

Fortunately for Mallar, those comments had not been recorded, but the board did not rule in his favor.

The Daily Mail contacted Mallar and the Bangor City Council chair for comment.