LAKE PLACID -- Gov. David Paterson's mandate to reduce state spending an additional 7 percent sent state agencies in this region back to the budget table.

Earlier last week, Paterson sat stoically in the capitol's Red Room and delivered a somber message about the bleak fiscal condition of state coffers.

Paterson proposed cuts totaling $1.23 billion from the current budget to offset what he termed a "mammoth" decline in revenues.

It is a fraction of the $26.2 billion forecast in budget deficits looming over the next three years.

"We are now officially saying New York is in a recession," Budget Director Laura Anglin said, noting recessions in the state historically last 25 months.

Regional state agencies are looking for ways to comply.

APA

At the Adirondack Park Agency, with a $6.2 million total budget, it means things will be tight.

"Clearly the state has some serious financial concerns, and we all need to pitch in," Chairman Curt Stiles said in a phone interview.

"The governor is trying to head this off earlier rather than later."

APA has already begun looking for ways to reduce spending further, having met the 3.35-percent cut earlier this summer.

It is the smallest state agency.

"We have no specific game plan," Stiles said, "though we're confident we can do our share. It is tougher for a smaller agency than a larger one; the skin gets stretched a lot tighter."

PRISON SYSTEM

The Department of Correctional Services and the State Police are two agencies that still have not received approval for the 3.35-percent reduction plans filed by July 1.