By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Governor David Paterson said the state budget he'll release next week will merge several state offices to reduce the size of government and save millions of dollars annually.
Paterson says he will call for the consolidation of several offices that do similar work. It would save about $15 million a year to start, out of the $131 billion budget.
But the proposal avoids the biggest potential mergers, at least for now. For example, it does not include mergers of such major units as the Thruway Authority and the Department of Transportation.
Paterson said the budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins April 1st will top $7 billion. He says closing the gap will be tougher than ever because the state has already used its rainy day fund and one-shot revenues to close previous deficits.
Also Tuesday, Paterson challenged the State Legislature to make the changes in state law -- such as lifting the cap on charter schools -- that will make the state eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal "Race to the Top" funding for schools.