When Margaret "Peggy" Gordon took over the troubled Colorado Lottery early this year, she examined every contract and questioned every expense.
That effort allowed the agency to cut nearly $1 million from its $22.8 million 2005-06 budget request in an era when many agencies are looking for additional funding from the already tight state budget.
"We were looking at everything individually," Gordon said. "The staff really stepped up and found ways we could spend less and not cut what we're doing in terms of quality."
An audit last year found excessive spending and possible conflicts of interest in the agency that runs the state lottery and scratch-ticket gambling.
Mark Zamarripa, who left the agency after problems were discovered, said the lottery commission and the legislature approve the budget.
"I retired a year ago and haven't really thought about it," he said in a phone interview.
Gordon, who previously worked at the Department of Public Safety, said she cut travel, did not fill two director positions, canceled a marketing contract and tracked lottery tickets to make sure the agency ordered the correct amounts.
Sen. Dave Owen, a Greeley Republican who headed the Joint Budget Committee during some of the most severe budget crunches, said the savings will not help the state's budget, because the department is funded by lottery sales and the profits go to open space and schools.
"More power to them," he added. "I know we've been after them to make reductions."
The money saved through cuts will go to underfunded schools.
Some of the savings were pretty easy, Gordon said, while others took some digging.
The two director positions, which together would have cost $164,112, were not necessary because other people were already performing those duties.
Gordon decided work called for in a roughly $400,000 marketing contract could be performed internally.
She decided to stop the practice of sending more than one or two employees to conferences, saving about $6,400, and found another $62,748 in savings from operating expenses, such as buying less expensive envelopes and canceling magazine subscriptions.
Gordon also saved $286,990 from the costs of scratch-off tickets by tracking how many tickets were sold and ordering only that amount. The tracking reduced the cost of printing scratch- game tickets and securely destroying unsold tickets.
The savings are likely to be a one-time reduction in the agency's proposed budget, and Gordon said it is unlikely she will ask for budget increases, despite some needs such as replacing vehicles.
"I don't have any plans to ask for more money, but something could come up," she said.
The Department of Revenue, which includes the lottery, will present its budget to the Joint Budget Committee on Dec. 21.
Where the cuts and savings were made
The new lottery director trimmed nearly $1 million from the troubled department's budget since taking over at the beginning of the year.
The cuts and savings include:
Elimination of two director positions, $164,112
Purchasing cheaper office supplies, cutting subscriptions and other operating expenses, $62,748
Cutting unnecessary travel, $6,443
Canceling marketing and communications contract, $453,805
Printing and destruction cost savings from purchasing the right number of scratch tickets, $286,990
Would the CO Lottery be in a better position if it offered Hot Lotto?