Maui Mayor Richard Bissen appointed Marcy Martin this week as acting finance director, making her the fourth person to fill the position in the past four months.
But she’s only planning to fill in for as long as it takes the county to recruit a permanent finance director, county officials said in a statement Wednesday.
“Marcy’s multi-faceted background in finance, and her years of experience in numerous leadership roles within the County’s Finance Department, contribute to her selection for this interim role,” Bissen said in the statement. “We are grateful that she is willing to serve in this capacity, in this critical time as we work diligently to appoint a new Director of Finance.”
Martin took the reins from Maria Zielinski, who was set to be confirmed as finance director by the Maui County Council last month but withdrew her name April 30, the day before its first meeting on the matter. No reason was provided.
Zielinksi, the former state tax director, will now serve as deputy finance director, the release says.
The game of musical chairs began after Finance Director Scott Teruya, a holdover from former Mayor Michael Victorino’s administration, was put on administrative leave Feb. 2. His deputy director, Steve Tesoro, briefly served as acting director but is now the department’s internal control officer.
Teruya was terminated April 8 without any public explanation from Bissen’s office, which maintained it is a confidential personnel matter.
Zielinski had supervised the department most recently, steering the county through its months-long budget process. The council thanked her for her work Wednesday after approving the $1.7 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2025.
Martin worked for 25 years in the county’s Real Property Tax Division before serving as real property tax administrator under Teruya.
The finance director is a major position in the county, third in line to the mayor. The director oversees county expenses and revenues, ensures the bond rating stays strong and manages nearly 200 employees in five divisions.
Council members have expressed frustration over the turnover and desire for greater stability in the department while understanding to some degree the mayor’s inability to discuss certain personnel matters.
Council member Tamara Paltin expressed concern over the council’s ability to provide oversight of the county’s financial affairs during a May 1 meeting when the council was first set to take up Zielinski’s nomination.
“I kind of feel like we’re being disrespected,” she said of the administration’s lack of communication over Teruya’s departure.
Council member Nohe U’u-Hodgins said during the same meeting that she agrees it’s in the council’s best interest to find out what is going to prevent “a revolving door.”
Earlier this week when asked how she felt about the administration not having someone permanently filling this key Cabinet post, she said the county has “competent people to hold us up” until a permanent finance director is recruited, appointed and confirmed. “But sooner the better,” she said.
The council voted Friday to officially disapprove of Zielinski’s nomination, a formality to reset the process and not a reflection of how they viewed her appointment.
Council member Gabe Johnson said Friday that he still has not heard an explanation from the administration as to why Zielinski withdrew her name, despite having asked for that May 1. He said the turnover of finance directors distracts from work on affordable housing and other issues he’s interested in making progress on.
Bissen also announced Wednesday that he was appointing Lesley Milner as budget director. She has been acting budget director since April, taking over for Zielinski when she moved up, and was a senior committee analyst in the Maui Office of Council Serves prior to that.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
