ATLANTA (AP) Hundreds of child welfare workers furloughed. State parks shuttered. Prisoners stacked three high in triple bunks. Teen pregnancy prevention dollars gone. Reservoir money drying up. Crime labs closing. State school funding dwindling.

The sluggish economy is coming home to Georgia as state agencies under orders from Gov. Sonny Perdue draw up plans that slash spending by up to 10 percent.

Some proposed cuts are designed for worst-case scenarios and could include boosting student fees at some Georgia colleges or slashing state payments to mental health and foster care providers.

But it's clear that even under the 6 percent cuts the minimum ordered by Perdue state agencies face significant changes.

Georgia is looking to fill a projected budget gap of $1.6 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1. That hole could get even deeper if tax revenues flowing into state coffers continue to plummet.

While agency heads are taking pains to minimize the impact on services and benefits eliminating employee travel and discretionary spending some of the cuts will undoubtedly be felt by Georgians.

The impact began to crystallize last week as agencies finalized spending blueprints that are due in the governor's office by Tuesday.

Perdue and state lawmakers will ultimately have the final say on spending. But the Legislature isn't expected to convene until January so the proposals will effectively control spending for the coming months.

The mood at some budget hearings was funereal as state officials axed promising new programs and juggled dollars to minimize the pain.

``We have a shared grief about the budget,'' said Mary Burns, chairwoman of the state Department of Human Resources, which oversees social service spending.

Furloughs are rippling through that 19,000-employee department but will not impact front-line caseworkers, a spokeswoman said. The state has made gains by reducing caseloads in recent years and is focused on maintaining its progress, Dena Smith said.

Georgia's 1.9 million homeowners stand to feel the pinch as Perdue freezes a homeowner tax relief grant that averages $200 to $300 per household. Those grants to communities are supposed to hold down property tax rates but Perdue has argued they fatten local governments.

Still, if the grants fail to appear, local leaders may have to hike property taxes to make up the difference. State lawmakers have said they want to restore the grants when they return to Atlanta in January.

Not on the chopping block at least not yet are some $155 million in special interest tax cuts, such as a tax break for insurance companies and an income tax credit for private school scholarships.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican, called such tax breaks ``a needed stimulant to the current economy.''

But Alan Essig, head of the nonpartisan Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said the tax cuts should be targeted instead of slashes to education, health care and other services.

And some state legislators, up for re-election, are cutting the pork.

The Georgia Senate has authorized the state Department of Community Affairs to distribute their half of the $6 million in local assistance grants for museums, parks and other projects. But the House grants are on hold as Republican leaders have asked members to consider eliminating at least some of the grants.

State Rep. Ben Harbin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, acknowledged that the move is largely symbolic since the money was a tiny drop in the $1.6 billion shortfall.

``The issue is sharing in the sacrifice,'' he said. ``And these are real dollars.''

For all his power as the state's chief executive, Perdue is finding that his pet projects are not immune to the budget ax. Funding for his land conservation program and academic coaches designed to combat high dropout rates are on the cutting room floor.

At least one group isn't going quietly.

Georgia public defenders voted Thursday to reject the budget reductions, saying that after years of repeated budget cuts, this round would jeopardize their ability to provide an adequate legal defense for Georgia's poor.

The rest of the legal system is buckling from cuts, too.

State prosecutors voted to order employees to take an unpaid day off each month starting in September. And superior court judges voted to suspend their use of senior judges retired judges paid a per diem which they warned could lead to a backlog in court dockets and county jails.

Some advocates called for greater public input to give a clearer sense of what the cuts will mean.

``We understand that there's a budget problem,'' said Mindy Binderman, advocacy director Voices for Georgia's Children. ``But we absolutely believe that there needs to be transparency in that process and these decisions are too important to be made by the commissioners alone.''

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

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