Newburgh Interim City Manager, Joe Donat, appointed a new Comptroller at the City Council meeting on February 11. Todd Venning will steer the city financially after previous comptroller, Katie Mack resigned right before budget season in November.

Venning is a licensed attorney from Brooklyn Law School with a Masters of Science in Business Administration. He worked as the Senior Management Analyst for the Department of Watershed Management in the City of Atlanta, GA.

Prior to his work in Atlanta, Venning worked for New York City Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where he handled budgets far larger than the City of Newburgh.

“The budget here is about 40 million, when I worked at OMB I’ve dealt with budgets 10 or 15 times the size,” said Venning. “The challenge here is making sure we are doing what we are supposed to with state reporting budgets, and making sure we are accurate to make sure we know exactly what is going on. It’s about making sure everything is where it is supposed to be and figuring that out.”

In his first week on the job, Venning is looking at the city’s financials to get a clear picture of the municipality’s financial health. He refrains from setting any priorities until he has a clear understanding of what is possible in the current financial state.

“The biggest thing right now is review the finances, we have a large set of financials so it takes some time to go through,” said Venning. I’m going to meet with the City Manager and Department Heads to see where we’re at.”

Venning has been a Newburgh resident for 15 years, volunteering his time at the Boys and Girls Club in Newburgh and serving as a Postgraduate Fellow with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley introducing him to the City of Newburgh.

“Todd Venning is not only impressive on paper,” said Mayor Torrance Harvey. “He has real life experience that the city of Newburgh has needed for some time. I welcome him with open arms and look forward to working with him.”

Venning hopes to finish his deep analysis within 90 days, once his analysis is complete he will meet with Donat and Department heads to craft a plan that meets the needs of the city and maintains a positive financial health.

“Hiring a comptroller has been my number one priority since taking on the role as manager,” said Donat. “Todd is my first appointment, and I am confident he will be a great fit and work collaboratively with all city staff to help us move forward in a fiscally responsible manner.”