Why Was The Maui County Finance Director Fired?
The absence of former finance director Scott Teruya, which has never been explained, was felt during the county’s about-to-conclude critical budget deliberations.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen鈥檚 administration still will not say why Scott Teruya, the finance director long seen as an upstanding public servant and community leader, was fired more than a month ago.
Teruya was placed on administrative leave in February and terminated April 8, right in the middle of a critical budget session for the Maui County Council and Bissen鈥檚 administration, which grappled with much financial uncertainty while dealing with wildfire recovery efforts.
With deliberations on the budget complete, the council is set to give the budget bill preliminary approval on Tuesday.
Finance employees still have not been told officially why Teruya was removed from office. Neither have Maui council members.
In most cases, council members aren鈥檛 informed of personnel decisions from the administration.
鈥淏ut when someone is in that important of a position, to the community and the finance department, you would think the administration would want to tell the council,鈥 said Yuki Lei Sugimura, chair of the council鈥檚 budget committee.
She said she trusted Teruya, who was always helpful to her committee when it had questions on tax revenues or the county鈥檚 finances.
鈥淪till to this day, I do not know why he was removed,鈥 Sugimura said. 鈥淔or somebody in that position, to be treated the way he was being treated, somebody should have told us what happened.鈥
The county finance department and the council have pressed on with Director Maria Zielinski, who took office shortly after Teruya was fired and shepherded the administration’s budget through hours-long council hearings that stretched into the night. 聽
“We鈥檝e been running with an acting director, and would just like to get this thing settled,鈥 County Treasurer Jack Kulp said.
Teruya did not respond to a text message seeking comment.
Bissen’s office said that the county “cannot discuss the circumstances around Mr. Teruya’s departure because it is a confidential personnel matter.”
Covid-19 Contracts Scrutinized
Two critical reports came out of the Maui County auditor鈥檚 office ahead of Teruya鈥檚 removal from office.
One dealt with the Finance Department鈥檚 administration of a new county hotel tax that the department failed to collect. Another, the findings of which have not been made public yet, had to do with the county鈥檚 expenditures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The auditor鈥檚 office found possible instances of fraud, waste and abuse in emergency procurements made during the Covid-19 pandemic when the county was awarded more than $50 million through federal programs aimed at dealing with the public health emergency.
The auditor鈥檚 review covered the time when Teruya led the county finance department, which had oversight of the pandemic-era emergency expenditures and federal relief funds.
The auditor鈥檚 office submitted its findings to the 鈥渁ppropriate authorities鈥 in January, according to Lance Taguchi, the county auditor. He said he does not know if the findings were related to Teruya鈥檚 removal from office in February.
Civil Beat asked for Teruya鈥檚 personnel file as well as for procurement documents of certain Covid-19 contractors but didn鈥檛 receive them as of Friday.
Taguchi declined to specify the expenditures that the office flagged. He said some of the findings would be made public at a later date, along with recommendations on how Maui can improve internal controls around contracting during emergencies.
鈥淯nfortunately, (the recommendations) didn鈥檛 come in time for the wildfires, but hopefully we can improve for future emergencies,鈥 Taguchi said.
The U.S. Treasury Department, which provided much of the pandemic relief funding to states and local governments, did not respond to inquiries regarding any audits of Maui鈥檚 Covid-19 funds.
One of Maui County鈥檚 contractors during the pandemic was already under investigation by the federal government.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, the county paid nearly $300,000 in federal relief funds to H2O Process Systems, which was owned by Honolulu businessman Milton Choy. Choy was convicted in a bribery scheme involving former Maui officials who took cash and trips from Choy in exchange for providing his company with lucrative wastewater contracts.
At the time, Choy was aiding federal agencies in an ongoing investigation of public corruption in Hawaii.
His company was paid for cleaning and disinfection services, some of which were contracted by the Finance Department.
A Dedicated Coach
Teruya had worked in the Finance Department since 1997. Before becoming director in 2019, he led the county鈥檚 real property tax division.
Outside of his government roles, he was on the board of directors of the . He was also a longtime baseball coach.
He started a nonprofit organization, the Hawaii Youth Baseball Experience, with fellow Maui coach Lee Yonamine. Teruya coached at Maui High School with Yonamine before dropping down to the elementary and intermediate levels while his son played baseball, Yonamine said.
He later coached at Maui High School for a second stint under state championship-winning head coach Chase Corniel.
Yonamine said Teruya was a good guy and dedicated to expanding opportunities for youth baseball players on Maui.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure if anyone called him right now, he鈥檇 rush out there for the kids,鈥 Yonamine said.
Civil Beat鈥檚 coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
