Published late last month with little fanfare, the study was not circulated widely beyond budget watchers and the financial press.

Many budget watchers view as optimistic the Governor's estimate that revenue will increase by 8.3 percent this year, the percentage needed to produce a balanced budget.

Still, coming in flush times, the letter caught some budget watchers by surprise.

Mr. Page questioned the assumptions of some budget watchers that hiring new employees was necessarily less expensive than relying on overtime.

Inflation and rising printing costs contribute, but as any budget watcher knows, City Hall is pressed for cash these days.

Many budget watchers said the Mayor had no choice.

But some budget watchers say tax collections are not improving and spending cuts may be needed in December.

But other budget watchers, from both parties, have come increasingly to the view that, when it comes to direct action by Congress, less is more.

For this reason, budget watchers who agree that the crisis appears to be abating, add in the next breath that the situation is tenuous.

Still, those who have followed her on the Council know her to be a shrewd budget watcher.