A top Maine Democrat raised red flags in 2024 regarding the Mills Administration’s handling of non-competitive, no-bid contracts more than six months before Maine’s Democratic State Auditor issued a damning report detailing material weaknesses in state spending policies that left more than $2.1 billion vulnerable to cronyism, abuse, and fraud.
Former Democratic Rep. Jessica Fay, who represented House District 66 and then 86 from 2016 to 2024, requested that the Government Oversight Committee (GOC), which she co-chaired, consider an Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) evaluation of the State of Maine’s procurement policies in a June 17, 2024, letter.
“I am writing to request that the Government Oversight Committee consider an OPEGA evaluation of the State of Maine’s procurement process for goods and services,” Rep. Fay said.
[RELATED: Maine Audit Reveals Systemic $2.1 Billion Financial Mismanagement and Corruption Risk…]
Requesting an OPEGA investigation is the most serious investigative inquiry a lawmaker can make other than a criminal referral, and Fay’s request directly targeted a sprawling government bureaucracy managed by Kirsten Figueroa, a long-time ally of Gov. Janet Mills (D).
Figueroa serves as the commissioner for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), the department that oversees Maine’s spending on contracts for goods and services via the Bureau of General Services (BGS) and the Office of State Procurement Services (OSPS).
“In light of recent news reports regarding high-profile impacts of procurement outcomes as well as anecdotal conversations shared with me by constituents, I am making this request,” said Fay.
Fay’s request specifically flagged “criteria and rationale for no-bid contracts” as the first item she wanted addressed with a hypothetical OPEGA probe, the same area of DAFS policy that State Auditor Dunlap subjected to withering scrutiny in his March 31 report.
That report found material weaknesses in how the state of Maine spends money on goods and services, particularly how the state has been utilizing the no-bid, non-competitive process, and whether the Mills Administration is adequately following state and federal rules.
Fay June 2024 request was oddly prescient, asking for an earlier review by OPEGA of the very issues Dunlap would later flag as material weaknesses Maine’s process for procuring goods and services.
However, despite Fay’s request for an investigation, legislative records show that Figueroa brushed aside the Democrat’s concern, responding with a letter and presentation that effectively told the lawmaker that procurement — i.e. government spending — was too complicated for most people to understand.
Between DAFS, BGS, OSPS, GOC, and OPEGA — it’s a veritable acronym soup. But the simple version is that GOC and OPEGA are the legislative watchdogs — or, at least, they’re supposed to be — and DAFS/BGS/OSPS are the bureaucrats who spend tax dollars via a procurement process.
The procurement process, Figueroa said, in June 26, 2024 letter to Fay and Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec), the other co-chair of GOC, was mysterious to all but a few select government bureaucrats with special experience and intelligence.
“[DAFS]’s purpose is to provide a competitive, open and transparent process that yields the best value when spending taxpayer dollars. But admittedly, the knowledge about how that objective is accomplished resides with a small, highly specialized group of public servants, and outside of those who regularly engage in the competitive bid process it can look complicated, intimidating, and difficult to break into,” Figueroa said.
“Procurement is one of those areas of State government that legislators don’t pay a lot of mind to until, either: a business in their district feels aggrieved they didn’t win a state contract, or a high-profile appear gains the news media’s attention,” said Figueroa.
She included a 13-page PowerPoint that was essentially a less in-depth version of “Spending Tax Dollars For Dummies.”
Figueroa, who has spent nearly her entire career working in taxpayer-funded roles, earned compensation worth $211,860.30 in 2024, according to state records. Among her first acts as the finance director for Mills was to create a special job position that wound up going to her husband, whose compensation last year was valued at $154,093.92.
Previously, she served at the defunct Dirigo Health Agency, the Maine Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Maine State Housing Authority, the Office of Information Technology, and then the Maine Attorney General’s office under then Attorney General Janet Mills.
It was during this time that Figueroa became a top confidante to Mills, serving as Chief of the Administrative Services Division, but it’s also where she developed a reputation among LePage administration figures for leaving spending deficits and mysteries in her wake.
“When Commissioner Figueroa was hand selected by Gov. Mills for this position, most people understood it was because she had loyally served as her lieutenant in the past, albeit in a dramatically smaller organization with a much smaller budget,” a former adviser to Gov. Paul LePage told the Maine Wire.
“It stands to reason her fidelity to Governor Mills is her top priority in this role,” they said.
Compared with similar audits conducted under LePage, the Mills Administration has received significantly more flags for material financial weaknesses and significant deficiencies, which are the two harshest terms auditors can muster in their work products.
[RELATED: Mills’ Millions: Maine Taxpayers Foot Bill for Absurd No-Bid Contracts…]
In sharp contrast to Fay’s concern over the Mills Administration’s haphazard procurement process and over-reliance on under-scrutinized no-bid contracts, Democrats in the 131st Legislature have circled the wagons around Mills, with Rep. Sue Salisbury (D-Westbrook), the House co-chair of the State and Local Government Committee, leading the charge last week.
In Dunlap’s first appearance before the legislative committee since publishing the audit, Salisbury blocked any public discussion about the audit. She shut down efforts by her Republican colleagues to question Dunlap about the audit’s findings, insisting that the session was not intended to address the audit directly. Even when Dunlap signaled his willingness to talk about the audit, Salisbury declined to let him address the findings.
Salisbury followed up the blatant attempt at protecting the Mills Administration from scrutiny with an op-ed the following day in the seldom-read Lewiston Sun Journal, in which she insisted that the audit merely reflected business as usual for the State of Maine.
The shift in concern is striking and inexplicable. In June 2024, top Democrats were alarmed enough over issues with state procurement to call for an OPEGA investigation. But now, even after an audit further stoked concerns of state procurement, the Mills Administration and Democratic lawmakers appear committed to ignoring the warning lights.
The partisan shift is concerning, particularly as the audit’s findings raise legitimate concerns about the fair and legal distribution of taxpayer funds. The audit found that none of the 45 contracts tested were properly vetted with the required cost analysis, with significant issues related to “stacking” low-cost service contracts to circumvent competitive bidding laws. The state’s lack of oversight has now put taxpayers at risk of legal and financial consequences, according to Dunlap. That could include the potential for lawsuits from excluded vendors and federal clawbacks of improperly spent funds.
The nature of some of the no-bid contracts revealed subsequent to Dunlap’s audit has also raised eye-brows and new questions about conflicts of interest within government agencies.
Here’s a few other stories from The Maine Wire about no-bid contracts under Gov. Janet Mills:
- Mills’ Millions: Maine Taxpayers Foot Bill for Absurd No-Bid Contracts
- Maine Department of Corrections to Pilot Prison Rehab Program Tailored to Muslim Inmates
- Mills Gives $130,000 No-Bid Contract to Spread False Info About COVID-19 Vaccine
- Mills Admin Supports ‘chestfeeding’ with $50k Purchase of Larger Size Nursing Bras for ‘birthing parents’
- Mills Admin to Spend $500,000 on Extending Marketing Campaign to ‘Decrease Hesitancy’ About COVID-19 Shots, Flu Vaccines
- Maine CDC Awards $90,000 Grant to Combat Diabetes in Portland’s Immigrant Population
- Mills Admin Proceeds with $15,000 Study into ‘Safe Consumption Sites’
- Maine State Library Pays $12,000 for ‘toolkit’ to Teach Children About ‘climate change and climate action’
- Mills Administration Hires California-Based Nonprofit to Guide Public Schools Toward Zero Carbon Goals
- Mills Admin Partners with Woke Brunswick Nonprofit to Train Maine Students to be Climate Change Activists
- Maine Department of Education Wants to Spend $23,500 on ‘Happiness Expert’ Motivational Speaker
- Mills Admin Discloses Payments to Press Herald for Publishing Positive Articles on Maine Public Schools, DOE Spending
- Race-Based Tourism: Maine Taxpayers Fund $165k Grant to Black Travel Influencers for Attracting ‘diverse visitors’ to State
- Maine Racial Equity Board Sponsors Educational Walking Tours to Dispel Myth that State is ‘too old and too white’
- Mills Admin Seeks to Spend $2.7 Million to Boost Recruitment of ‘racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities’ into Workforce
- Mills Admin Hires ‘best professional cheat’ in Casino History to Advise Maine Casino Inspectors
- State DEI Commission’s Finance Committee Prohibits Public Comment After Question About Conflict of Interest
- Maine Speaker’s Racial Equity Board Gave Her Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 for Black History Month…
- Maine DEI Board Says No Conflict of Interest with $12,000 Grant to Co-Chair’s Sister
- Gov Mills “Jobs and Recovery Plan” Diverted $1,000,000 to Maine DEI Commission…
- Corruption: Equity Panel Chief Dodges Questions Over $12k Grant to Maine House Speaker’s Sister
- After Maine House Speaker Gave Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 in Taxpayer Money, DEI Panel Will Consider Anti-Corruption Policy
- Consulting Firm Scores $300k Contract to Advise Maine on Offshore Wind After Hiring Ex-Mills Staffer
- Mills Admin Boosts Maine Defense Contractor Recruitment Effort with $260,000 Grant
- Mills Admin Offers $300,000 ‘Social Equity Program’ Pushing Affirmative Action for Business Development
- Mills Admin Directs $462,000 Grant to Lewiston-Based Nonprofit for Services to Immigrant Victims of Domestic, Sexual Violence
- Mills Admin Seeks Immigration Law Consultants to Assist Public Defenders in Noncitizens’ Criminal, Juvenile Cases
- Mills Admin, Press Herald Entered ‘partnership’ for $117k Taxpayer-Funded Marketing Campaign Aimed at Voters, Emails Show
Now that we know where the money went in the Mills Mafia, when will we see any accountability whatsoever? I won’t hold my breath.
Read my lips- FOLLOW THE MONEY !
Even when Dunlap signaled his willingness to talk about the audit, Salisbury declined to let him address the findings.
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…Dems ignore the budget warning lights of material financial weaknesses and significant financial deficiencies….two of the harshest terms an auditor can muster from their work products…
Figueroa’s entire career in taxpayer funded roles yields her a salary of $200, 000 per year in Maine. Her FIRST ACT as finance director for Mills was to CREATE a special $155,00/year job for Figueroa’s husband.
Figueroa gained a reputation during LaPage’s tenure for leaving spending deficits and and financial mysteries in her wake through haphazard procurement process and under-scrutinized no- bid contracts.
“It stands to reason her fidelity to the Mills dynasty is Figueroa’s top priority in her role as Janet’s commissioner for the Dept. of Administrative and Financial Services.
Janet and Kirsten ARE NOT GOOD STEWARDS of other people’s money!
Maine needs outside oversight…. Elon bring your DOGE to Maine….
I hope the Mills Mafia doesn’t squash this investigation. This needs full disclosure. If Mills has fraudulently spent these $billions, we taxpayers need to know. There must be accountability. Jail, if these extreme expendatures show fraud or kickbacks. She has been abusing our little states finances for 6 years, and what about the whole CMP deal/corridor. Wasn’t there supposed to be a legal process to convey the corridor, a public process? Dictator and bully Mills needs reigning in and legal accountability, where’s the legislative oversight? Oh, maybe they are also self-enriching?
Janet Mills and her Crooked Cabal do and say exactly what they like without fear .
Maine voters put the bitch in office and they won’t admit that they chose poorly .
You can’t fix stupid . Stupid won’t fix crooked . Vicious Circle .