skip navigation

About Us

About Us

Agency Mission

Established in 1927, the Division of the Budget serves as the Governor’s chief financial advisor. Charged with executing the Governor’s constitutional fiscal duties, maintaining the State’s overall fiscal health, and ensuring its operational sustainability, DOB prepares and implements the State Budget, oversees the operations of State agencies, coordinates the State’s capital plan and bond market activities, supports fiscal accountability across the State enterprise, and drives the advancement of statewide technological innovation.

The Division is not charged with managing any single area of services or programs, but rather is responsible for weighing and considering the needs of the entire State and the competing demands on State resources. Examples of the Division’s most critical responsibilities include: developing a more-than-$200 billion Executive Budget to cover New York State agencies, offices, funds and public authorities, and more than 107,000 state employees under direct executive branch control; negotiating and achieving an Enacted Budget with the Legislature each year; facilitating the execution of State agency budgets throughout the year; establishing policies for operations that are common to all State agencies; coordinating the State’s capital plan and bond market activities; and supporting fiscal accountability across the State enterprise.

Article VII of the New York State Constitution establishes the process by which the State’s annual Budget is enacted. As the New York State Court of Appeals described in its 2004 landmark decisions Silver v. Pataki and Pataki v. New York State Assembly, under Article VII of the Constitution, the Governor is the constructor of the Budget and the Legislature is the critic. Section 20 of the State Finance Law charges the Division with exercising all of the Governor’s powers and performing all of the Governor’s duties with respect to the Budget, and in furtherance of those duties Section 21 of the State Finance Law vests the Division with certain auxiliary powers, including broad access to State agency offices, documents, data and information, and the ability to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and compel testimony. Executive Law Section 180 charges the Director of the Budget broadly with assisting the Governor in her “duties respecting the investigation, supervision and coordination of the expenditures and other fiscal operations of such department.” Hundreds of other provisions of State law and annual appropriations charge the Budget Director with approving transactions and policies across the State, including approving the expenditure of every dollar spent from the State Treasury.

The Division’s expansive duties necessitate an unwavering commitment to fiscal discipline and to the maximization of the value of every single taxpayer dollar spent by the State. To that end, two fundamental tenets underly the Division’s operations: a dollar spent on one need is a dollar unavailable for spending on another need, and fiscal responsibility cannot be severed from operational efficiency. Accordingly, to effectuate its statutory obligations, the Division not only manages discrete State agency and program budgets, it also establishes enterprise wide policies and strategies to support efficiency in operations and mitigation of financial plan risk. The Division issues such policies and strategies in the areas of federal grant management, purchasing and procurement, technology, data, provision of government services, and risk management.

Visit the “Division of the Budget History” page to learn more about the DOB’s origins.

Executive Team

The Executive Team of the Division of the Budget is responsible for promoting a culture of accountability, performance and innovation within the Division and across the Executive Branch. The Budget Director oversees the overall development and management of the State’s fiscal policy, including the preparation of budget recommendations for all State agencies and programs, economic and revenue forecasting, tax policy, fiscal planning, capital financing and management of the State’s debt portfolio.

Robert Megna, Budget Director

Robert Megna
Budget Director

Robert Megna was appointed Budget Director to serve through the 2023 legislative session and to assist with the search for a long-term Budget Director.  Immediately prior to his appointment, Megna served as president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, a role he will return to following the selection of a long-term Budget Director.  Prior to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Megna served as senior vice chancellor and chief operating officer of SUNY System Administration. In that role, he oversaw the operations of the chief information officer, the State University of New York (SUNY) Plaza business functions, capital facilities, campus energy management, and the Charter School Institute. He joined SUNY System Administration from Stony Brook University, where he served as senior vice president for finance and administration. Prior to joining Stony Brook, he served as executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority and New York State Canal Corporation.

Megna previously served as Budget Director, during which time the state achieved its highest financial rating in 40 years from three major credit rating agencies and passed four on-time budgets for the first time since the 1970s. He also chaired multiple governmental boards, including the Financial Restructuring Board, the New York Racing Association, and the Public Authorities Control Board. Megna has also served as commissioner for New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, director of the revenue and economics unit at DOB, assistant commissioner of the office of tax policy at the Virginia Department of Taxation, director of tax studies at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and deputy director of fiscal studies on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Megna earned an M.S. in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London and received both his B.A. in Economics and M.P.A. from Fordham University.

Amy R. Ottaviano, Esq.

Amy R. Ottaviano, Esq.
General Counsel and Director of Strategic Operations

Amy R. Ottaviano, Esq. is General Counsel and Director for Strategic Operations to the Division of the Budget. She previously served as General Counsel and Head of the Legal and Strategic Operations Unit to the Division from March 2019 through 2022 and prior to that as the Division’s General Counsel beginning in 2017.

In her General Counsel capacity, Amy oversees the small but elite team of DOB lawyers responsible for providing legal advice to the Division on all matters of law impacted by the budget from state finance law to constitutional law, education law to public health law, public officers law to public authorities law, state technology law to economic development law, and everything in between. In this capacity, Amy also oversees the Division’s litigation, Freedom of Information Law, ethics, and records retention portfolios. In her Strategic Operations capacity, Amy oversees the talented teams responsible for the Division’s and the Executive Chamber’s procurement portfolios, executive branch procurement strategy and policy, statewide nonprofit grant management and policy, governance of the Statewide Financial System and the Grants Gateway System, statewide data strategy, statewide performance management and strategic projects, statewide digital and technology strategy, and the Division’s technology portfolio.

Amy has worked for the Division for nearly 16 years. She began her career with the Division as a graduate student intern on the General State Charges and Legislative Affairs teams between 2007 and 2010, was a Budget Examiner on the Labor Relations team from 2010-2012, and served as Assistant Counsel to the Division from 2012-2017.

Amy earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Syracuse University and her juris doctor from Albany Law School. Amy has been admitted to practice law in NYS since January 2011.

Deputy General Counsels

Joel Lombardi

Joel Lombardi
Deputy General Counsel

Eustacia Sanon

Vanessa Perry
Deputy General Counsel

Executive Assistants

Katie Hare

Katie Hare
Executive Assistant to the Budget Director

Eustacia Sanon

Eustacia Sanon
Executive Assistant to the Budget Director

Organization

The Division is recognized as a premier institution in New York State Government. It is staffed by a talented and committed team of nearly 300 analysts, economists, strategists, administrators, and lawyers. In addition to the Executive Team, the Division is divided into 13 distinct functional portfolios which are overseen by dedicated, assiduous, and knowledgeable leaders.

Portfolios

Laurie Lucier

Laurie Lucier
Administrative Services

Shahiba Kogut

Shahiba Kogut
Budget Services

Tom Wood

Tom Wood
Capital and Debt

Michael Smingler

Michael Smingler
Education and Arts

Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan
Economic Development, Environment, and Energy

Anthony Rodolakis

Anthony Rodolakis
Economics and Revenue

Jen Slane

Jen Slane
Fiscal Planning

Jim DeWan

Jim DeWan
General Government and Workforce

Jillian Kirby Bronner

Jillian Kirby Bronner
Health

Jesse Olczak

Jesse Olczak
Human Services, Housing, and Intergovernmental Affairs

Peggy A. O'Shea

Peggy A. O’Shea
Mental Hygiene

Maria A. LoGiudice

Maria A. LoGiudice
Public Protection

Jason DiGianni

Jason DiGianni
Strategic Operations

Joseph Conroy

Joseph Conroy
Transportation and Transit

Key Services and Programs

Budget Publications
Visit the Budget Publications page to access DOB’s annual publications, archived by fiscal year.

Open Budget
Visit the Open Budget website to view and download State budget information in common open-data formats.

Citizen’s Guide
Visit the DOB’s Citizen’s Guide to learn more about the budget process, financial terminology, and state government structure.

Employment at DOB
Visit the DOB Employment page to learn about working at the Division, and current openings.

Press Releases
Visit the DOB Press Releases page to see press releases directly related to the Division or Division publications.

Transparency
The Division of the Budget is committed to transparency. Visit the DOB Transparency page to read the Division’s Transparency Plan, connect to open data resources, learn how file a Freedom of Information Law request, and more.

Freedom of Information Law
To learn about Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and submit a request, visit the DOB FOIL page.

Contact Information

Media Inquiries and General Public Information
Members of the media and general public may direct inquiries to our press line at 518-473-3885, or email inquiries to dob.sm.press@budget.ny.gov.

Website Questions
For technical comments or questions about this web page please email the Division of the Budget Webmaster.