Gov. Butch Otter says he's "hoping for the best" - that a mid-year budget cut won't be necessary after all. But, he said, he wants to be prepared for cuts if they're necessary. State agencies have until next Wednesday at 10 a.m. to get him their plans for cuts of 1 percent, 2 percent, or 2.5 percent. Here's a statement from the governor:

"I am hoping for the best, I am absolutely hoping for the best. But I am planning for the worst. And I think the two and half percent represents the worst. And the best would be that we continue to go through the budget year without any kind of reduction or any kind of a holdback. But rather than trying to manage through a crisis, I think that if we see things that are problematic I want to have a plan to be able to go forward with that. I met with legislative leadership. Every legislator got the same letter this morning that went to every agency head.”

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