Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa presented Gov. Janet Mills' proposed change package to the Appropriations Committee on Friday, March 29. (Screenshot)
The head of Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services will retire later this year after nearly 30 years of working for the state.
Gov. Janet Mills announced late Tuesday morning that Kirsten Figueroa will retire from her position as commissioner on Oct. 31. Since Mills nominated Figueroa in January 2019, she has overseen two dozen state and highway fund budgets, built up the state’s “rainy day fund” to more than $1 billion and increased wages for state employees by at least 24%, according to the news release from the governor’s office.
The department serves as the chief fiscal advisor to the governor by preparing state budgets and coordinating state agencies’ financial activities. It is also responsible for other miscellaneous services including the maintenance of state-owned buildings and the sale of distilled spirits.
“The job of DAFS commissioner is one of the most challenging in state service, and Kirsten has done an exceptional job,” Mills said. “I am deeply sad to lose her, but it is in large part because of her that the State of Maine is in such good financial shape and that we were able to accomplish so much.”
Mills will appoint Deputy Commissioner of Operations Elaine Clark to serve as acting commissioner upon Figueroa’s retirement. The commissioner role is a cabinet-level appointment that requires a hearing before the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and confirmation by the Maine Senate.
In the past seven years, Figueroa drafted and helped pass 24 balanced budgets, the governor’s office noted. That included 22 biennial and supplemental general fund and highway fund budgets, as well as two special budgets. Those budgets included funding to provide free school meals for all Maine students, launch free community college and provide $850 in inflation relief to Mainers.
She also handled the distribution of nearly $1 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funding through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan.
Beyond the state’s pocketbook, Figueroa also led the overhaul of the Maine Revenue Services tax filing system and established the Office of Cannabis Policy in 2019 to manage the sale of recreational cannabis.
“I leave knowing that the state is on solid financial footing, and I feel deeply grateful to have fought for the interests of more than 12,000 state employees, folks who work tirelessly day in and day out for the people of Maine,” Figueroa said.
Before serving as commissioner, Figueroa, who grew up in Litchfield and Topsham, was chief of administrative services in the Attorney General’s Office. Prior to that she served as deputy commissioner of finance for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services from 2006 through 2008 and director of administrative services for the Division of Financial and Personnel Services from 2001 to 2004.
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