ATLANTA (AP)- Gov. Sonny Perdue says state revenue collections
for last month fell 6.6 percent from this time last year.

Revenue for the first month of the 2008-2009 fiscal year totaled
$1.2 billion, a decrease of $86.4 million from the same month a year ago.

State officials are slashing department budgets and withholding tax cuts for homeowners in light of a projected budget shortfall of $1.6 billion this fiscal year, which began July 1.

Perdue has ordered cuts of 6 percent and will defer state employee pay raises planned for January to deal with the shortfall.

There are exceptions for the Department of Education, which likely will be cut 2 percent, and the state Medicaid program, which is expecting cuts of 5 percent.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)