Governor-elect Janet Mills, who is currently Maine’s Attorney General, is reaching into her own office to find a new state finance director.
Mills announced Monday she wants Kirsten Figueroa to be Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), often referred to as the state Finance Director.
Figueroa currently works as Chief of the Administrative Services Division in the Attorney General’s Office.
Her experience includes a number of years in financial management positions at several state agencies, including both the Dept. of Health and Human Services, as well as and the DAFS agency she is being hired to run. Figueroa also worked for three years as chief financial officer for Avesta Housing.
Mills praised Figueroa, saying, “I have witnessed firsthand her considerable talent and expertise as the Chief of the Administrative Services Division in the Attorney General’s Office, and I know she will bring to bear those same skills at the department as we prepare a budget that will maintain fiscal stability, reduce the burden of property taxes, increase revenue sharing, and invest in our future, among other important priorities.”
Figueroa is the second person to be nominated to Mills’ cabinet. Her nomination will need to be confirmed by the Maine Senate.
Once on the job, Figueroa will need to work quickly. The new Mills Administration has to have a new, two-year state budget prepared by the beginning of February.