Budget fight! Megna vs. DiNapoli

I figured this couldn’t last.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered somewhat restrained praise for Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, noting that he is competent and knows his way around state government. Earlier today the Comptroller put out its own lukewarm nod to the governor’s $142.6 billion budget plan, noting that it holds a line on spending but offers some long-term growth in debt and relies on optimistic forecasts.

About two hours later, Cuomo’s Budget Director Bob Megna fired back in a phone conference that essentially ripped DiNapoli’s assessment from one end to the other.

Among Megna’s remarks, DiNapoli’s staff “did a disservice” in their analysis, and he all but called them incompetent when asked whether the critique was political or due to lack of ability.

“What may have happened is when the staff got into the details of the budget they were not understanding what we were trying to accomplish,” Megna said, adding they didn’t talk to him prior to issuing the report.

Some of the main contentions centered on what the Comptroller termed “sweeps” of fund pools, but which Megna said were monies to streamline and consolidate IT functions, and over the use of a $345 million pot of reserve money used to help settle labor contracts back in 2012.

Megna said the Comptroller also unfairly takes aim at public authority borrowing, which is broken out from the $5.1 billion in debt that the state is expected run up annually over the next five years. Breaking out the two forms of borrowing, said Megna, has been how it has been done for decades.

Megna also defended Cuomo’s call to cut back on the large number of mandatory reports that localities have to file. The governor’s people have described it as useless busywork, although the Comptroller may use some of the data for their own purposes.

Do we sense a bit of a turf battle developing here?

  1. I see what you did there... says:

    “What my have happened is when the staff got into the details of the budget they were not understanding what we were trying to accomplish,” Megna said adding they didn’t talk to him prior to issuing the report.

    Cuomo doesn’t WANT you to know what he’s trying to accomplish. You will be told what to believe, good sir.


    Megna is one of the guys who undid David Paterson on the commands of a yet to be identified caller.

    DiNapoli’s staff is good enough to grow the pension system to a net worth of over $150 billion but according to Megna they are incompetents.

    Yea, right…who do we believe!!!

    Megna is a reincarnation the staff of Julius Caesar!

  3. joe dunphy says:

    it is pretty funny. “They didnt talk to me first” basically saying, had you talked to me and had a chance to hear my spin maybe you would have bought that bridge i was selling.

  4. woo says:

    Megna is no Mensa member but is intelligent enough to not bite the hand that feeds him.

    Who’s a good boy, you are, yes you are …..

    He does what Andy tells him to do — NOTHING more and NOTHING less..

    You would have to be a complete moron to give up a six-digit salary for being more or less a useless bureaucrat, which pretty much describes ALL the top level executives\managers at DOB.

    If you want to save the State millions of dollars, just put these executive\management slobs on unemployment. No one, and I mean no one, will ever notice any difference in how things get done at DOB.

  5. Walt says:

    Megma is the unqualified budget stooge of King Andy. Dinapoli is basing his opinions on GAAP, Megma on GAP! Dinapoli is correct, the budget is filled with one time shots, borrowing that Megman tries to hide in other categories, etc…

  6. Reality, what a concept says:

    Megalomania or Megna-mania is a disorder characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, or omnipotence. ‘Megalomania is characterized by an inflated sense of self-esteem and overestimation by persons of their powers and beliefs’. Historically it was used as a name for narcissistic personality disorder or an excessive enjoyment in having power over other people and a craving for more of it. Remember from where he came.

  7. Joe PEF says:

    $345 million in reserve funds for negotiations that were unused? If true that’s a lot of money for the unions to be leaving on the table.

  8. Megna blamed DiNapolis staff and was pretty gentle with DiNapoli himself compared to how rabid Cuomo attack dogs usually are.

    Why? Two words: Eliot Spitzer. Better to keep the devil you know in DiNapoli.

  9. Liberty & Justice says:

    Ha ha, Cuomo & Co. don’t like DiNapoli’s tepid critique of their budget, just wait until Spitzer is Comptroller!!!

  10. New Yorker says:

    Accomplishments? No state worker gets acknowledged unless you are a donor. They have agencies which have more temps in departments than actual employees. What’s that all about? So, it looks like you have nobody on the payroll. Statewide hiring freezes, jobs posted on Civil Service but how ppl get these jobs at agencies, nobody knows. Duplication of efforts all around the state when it comes to authorities, economic dev agencies…save the state some money and consolidate.

  11. See what I mean “WATSON” just more Albany BS (Buster to Bruno to Spitzer to Seiler)

    Run “WATSON” Run

    VJ Machiavelli

  12. InsideOut says:

    Bob had a lot of respect from State professionals before Cuomo came in.

  13. M/C says:

    Go DiNapoli Go!

    It is about time someone told the Emperor he was wearing no cloths.

    That goes for his court jesters, like Bob Megna, too.

    Lest we forget Magna is the mastermind behind the mistreatment of M/C employees, the very people that work for him, gives you a good measure of the man.

  14. John Quincy says:

    @Joe PEF

    That $345 million must be the money they were hiding so they could claim that the workers had to give up pay and benefits or the State would not survive!

  15. Bass6 says:

    What are the Comptroller’s Responsibilities?
    Administering the New York State and Local Retirement System for public employees, with more than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries and more than 3,000 employers;
    Acting as sole trustee of the $150.6 billion (As of March 31, 2012) Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest institutional investors in the world;
    Maintaining the State’s accounting system and administering the State’s approximately $15 billion payroll;
    Issuing reports on State finances;
    Managing the State’s assets and issuing debt;
    Reviewing State contracts and payments before they are issued;
    Conducting audits of State agencies and public benefit corporations;
    Overseeing the fiscal affairs of local governments, including New York City;
    Overseeing the Justice Court Fund and the Oil Spill Fund
    Acting as custodian of more than $10 billion in abandoned property and restoring unclaimed funds to their rightful owners;
    The Office of the State Comptroller also establishes regulations, issues publications, conducts training and proposes legislation to improve government operations at all levels. Headquartered in Albany, OSC employs a staff of more than 2600 people and maintains offices in New York City, as well as eight regional offices which audit and provide technical assistance to local governments throughout the State. A fundamental orientation unites all the diverse activities of the Office: the State Comptroller is responsible for ensuring that the taxpayers’ money is being used effectively and efficiently to promote the common good.

  16. Bass6 says:

    Note the last sentence!

  17. Charlie Brown says:

    Megna is a creepy looking fella. Why do so many of Prince Andy’s point men look like villains form an Austin Powers movie? Megna needs to buy himself a comb. He always looks like he just escaped from an asylum where budget cuts resulted in a lack of grooming essentials.

  18. Hayseed says:

    The cause of this budget fight can be traced to DiNapoli’s public statement that ” The pension fund isn’t a mandate relief fund.”

    Tyrants drunk on power don’t take so well to critisim.

    Tom don’t let Andy raid the cookie jar.

  19. Dirtnut says:

    Megna=Cuomo Lap Dog… Plain and simple, the whole thing was a set up, Cuomo played nice and the stooge came second. Megna you are a pathetic, but loyal lap dog to your dictator whom you owe your very exisitence. The problem is Megna your spots have outshown your master and people are on to you as the master of deception, you no longer can hide behind your viel of secrecy, we know you speak with forked tongue.
    The bottom line is the comptroller will hopefully see the follie in Dictator Andy’s end game of the Pension Game and HE WILL SAY NO!!!! Then the “S” will hit the proverbial fan because someone had the truthfully duty to tell Dictator Andy NO, your idea is plain STUPID and costly!!! Andy tell the truth, face the facts and fund the pension fund as it should be funded, not with smoke and mirrors!!!!!!!!

  20. hadenough says:

    Maybe Mr. Megna can tell us why he and the Governor’s office ok’d MC performance advances/pay raise for one state agency but not for all MC’s.

  21. Reality, What A Concept says:

    I truly hope the next round of gubernatorial elections runs King Andy and his headless henchman out of Albany for good. Remember ABC (Anyone But Cuomo).

  22. FedUp (The Real One) says:

    Go Dinapoli! Thanks for standing up to the dictator and his evil henchmen!

  23. sweatykitten says:

    Megna’s office was the landing place for Hevesi counsel Alan P. Lebowitz. While the rest of Hevesi’s inner circle became radioactive after Cuomo investigated pension pay to play, somehow his chief legal advisor has found a home at DOB through three different gubernatorial administrations. Makes you wonder.

  24. Chinwan says:

    I’ve seen Megna take agencies apart over comptroller audits that were not only wrong but read like they were written by an illiterate child. Funny how when the criticism is of Bob’s own agency all of a sudden the comptroller’s people are incompetent. Yes, the comptroller’s office is incompetent. The auditors are generally OK, but each audit is run through the press office which re-writes the audit findings to suit their political agenda, and the final product rarely resembles the audit performed. My issue is with the hypocrisy of Megna. He’s know the comptroller’s reports are bogus since he worked for the Pataki administration, but he’s never bothered to complain until the spin fell on him. Shame on him. Public service should be about more than service to yourself. Don’t expect anyone to run to your defense Bob. You’ve made your own bed.

  25. Chris says:

    The state Comptroller seems to be doing the job we elected him to do..
    seeing that the taxpayers money is used wisely and legally. The NYS Employees
    Pension Fund is not a “rainy day” fund for local or state government.
    The reason local governments are having trouble paying their share to the fund now is that under Gov.George Pataki they did not pay their fair share.

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