LAS CRUCES - On the financial chopping block?

Two chefs who serve the governor's mansion in Santa Fe, positions maintained by Gov. Bill Richardson, and a $5.5 million state-owned jet, said incoming Gov. Susana Martinez, while answering questions for reporters Thursday afternoon in Las Cruces.

Cutting the chef's positions would save the state's troubled budget about $160,000 annually, Martinez said. Plus, the jet will be put up for sale, she said, and she'll maintain a "minimum number" of state police officers in her security detail. She didn't specify how many, but said it will be fewer than the 15 or 16 Richardson has used at peak times.

"Those are symbols of the arrogance and the desire to spend taxpayers' dollars in a way that's unacceptable, but we have to look at every state agency to see where growth has taken place where it's not necessary," she said. "Are there people employed who don't have the credentials to be in those positions?"

Martinez, a Republican, didn't delve into some of the larger cuts to programs and agencies that are likely to be needed to deal with an expected $400 million state budget deficit. She said that was because the proposals haven't be cemented yet.

"There's nothing permanent or anything we have ready for publication," she said. "Keep in mind, I also have cabinet secretaries that have just been appointed, and, once they take office, they may have an insider view that they're not able to get right now."

Martinez, 51, the state's

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first female governor, takes office Saturday. Though she'll reside in the governor's mansion, she said Thursday she plans to maintain her home in Las Cruces, too, and return often, partly because she has a special-needs sister who'll continue to live here and partly to keep in touch with residents outside the capital.

"I want to make it comfortable for my sister," she said. "I want to make sure she still has access to my family and my husband and I in Santa Fe."

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443

On the Web

•Susana Martinez: www. martineztransition.com