In previous years, the House Appropriations and Budget Committee has been asked for more than a billion-dollars extra than the budget allowed for, so they were pleasantly surprised with Treasurer Ken Miller's request.

"This year, I think this is one instance that we'll get everything that we asked for," laughs Treasurer Miller. He admits, it's rare for an agency head to volunteer to reduce its own budget, but he hopes others will follow suit. "Part of leadership is leading by example," he says.

He was able to cut five-percent of his budget with a large staff reduction-- fueled by technology. "We had about 72-employees just a few years ago. By the end of this fiscal year, that will be reduced by 40-percent," says Treasurer Miller. With fewer employees, he's also consolidating from three working locations to one. "We will have everybody here at the Capitol, so we're getting rid of all of our lease space outside of the Capitol," he adds. He expects the move to be executed by May 1.

All of these changes put about $200,000 back into the General Revenue Fund, which could eventually trickle into your pockets. "The fewer taxdollars that we use, the fewer that have to come here in the first place," says Treasurer Miller.

Folks at the Capitol say Treasurer Miller's request for less iss refreshing when other agencies are typically asking for more. "For instance, the State Department of Education gets close to two-billion dollars, and asks for an extra 200-million," says Peter Rudy, publisher of the Oklahoma Capitol Source. He says the cut is great, but the numbers still need to be examined to see if more could be cut. "Just like you look at Education asking for a ten-percent increase," he explains. "Can they actually do with a five or seven-percent increase?" he asks.

Rudy also says the Legislature should also look into the other forms of revenue the Treasurer's Office receives-- like fees, and maybe reduce those. "If you use the Treasurer's services, you have to pay a certain amount, so it may be that he's getting extra fees from somewhere. Maybe those fees could be reduced for the people," says Rudy.

The Treasurer's Office says its other sources of revenue are less than half of its budget, and that money is not being used to replace what was cut.

This budget cut comes on top of an already accumulated 17-percent budget cut from the recession.

The Treasurer added, he expects the Governor to propose a tax cut in the State of the State on Monday.