Cut next years budget a mere 10% ? What about this year? What about the massive amount of waste and member items that usually range in the hundreds of millions? He’s got a challenge alright, he does, because the Democrats in the Assembly could care less, just ask Shelly Silver.

Mr. Paterson’s challenge

Governor Paterson has sent the right message to the Legislature: Curb your spending, or there will be consequences. But now his challenge will be to make his actions match his words.

Mr. Paterson is rightly concerned about the 2009-10 state budget, which has a projected deficit of $5 billion. If there’s an economic turnaround on Wall Street, that gap could shrink as the financial sector pumps billions of dollars in new revenues into state coffers. But that doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. Indeed, the opposite appears likely. Many experts are saying the current economic slowdown is, in fact, a recession.

Thus, Mr. Paterson is taking the responsible approach by getting the savings message out, loud and clear, well before the next April 1 budget deadline rolls around. He has already prohibited all but essential hiring and told agency heads to prepare detailed savings plans for the next budget by May 16. And if his targets aren’t met, he warns, budgeted funds could be withheld, or a hard hiring freeze imposed.

The governor’s strong warning marks a change in tone from his first days in office, when he was warmly greeted by state lawmakers as he replaced a disgraced Eliot Spitzer and promised to heal the hard feelings caused by Mr. Spitzer’s strong-arm style of governing. At the time, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who had locked horns repeatedly with Mr. Spitzer, promised Mr. Paterson his cooperation. So did Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

But that was then. Now the mood appears to be changing, just weeks after Mr. Paterson and legislative leaders agreed on this year’s budget of $121.7 billion. Some observers believe the Legislature had the upper hand in drafting that budget accord, which increases spending by 4.5 percent and calls for more hiring. Others wondered if Mr. Paterson, who served many years in the Senate, could stand up to his colleagues when the chips were down. A few even opined that the Legislature was paying little heed to what Mr. Paterson had to say.

This time, though, Mr. Paterson is giving every indication that he means what he says and he won’t be ignored. According to The New York Times, he wants to pare the state operating funds portion of the proposed 2009-10 fiscal year budget — which amounts to about $37 billion — by 5 to 10 percent, or $2 billion, even before it gets to the Legislature. Already the public employee unions are criticizing the governor for not notifying them in advance about a hiring freeze, and warning that the state could wind up spending more money if it is forced to hire outside workers to supplement an understaffed state work force.

And then there’s the Legislature. For the moment at least, the legislative leaders are promising to work with the governor to curb spending growth. Then again, they hardly have a good track record on frugality. Indeed, they rejected $500 million of the $800 million in spending cuts Mr. Paterson sought in the current budget.

So the battle lines are drawn. Mr. Paterson’s credibility is on the line.

THE ISSUE: The governor warns of a hiring freeze unless spending is curbed.

THE STAKES: He can’t appear to buckle under political pressure.