Topeka ? One day after her victory, Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday she had no specific budget cuts in mind and didn’t mind if Gov. Bill Graves made cuts he deemed necessary until the office changes hands in January.

“We have some challenges,” Sebelius said. “We didn’t get into this situation we are in overnight. We are not going to get out of it overnight.”

Sebelius’ comments came during her first news conference after Tuesday’s election victory against Republican Tim Shallenburger.

Sebelius announced her key staff positions and gave reporters a tour of her transitional offices in the Capitol. But most of the questions during the news conference concerned the state’s ailing budget.

The current fiscal year budget of about $4.4 billion will require a $255 million cut to keep state balances in the black, according to a new revenue estimate. After that, the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2003, faces an approximately $800 million shortfall between revenue and spending commitments.

Sebelius said she would leave decisions about the current fiscal year budget to Graves, at least until she is sworn into office Jan. 13. Graves, a Republican who was prohibited by law from seeking a third term, has said he wants to work with Sebelius on any current fiscal year budget cuts. But Sebelius made it clear she would just as soon Graves tackle those problems himself.

Sebelius said her much-promised top-to-bottom review of state government would begin next week and include a toll-free telephone number and Web site for Kansans to offer money-saving suggestions.

Sebelius said the review would be patterned after a continuing effort in Texas that started in 1991 to find more efficient ways of running government.

But pressed for details on how she would confront the immediate budget problems, Sebelius said she didn’t have any specific proposals.

“I did not have a magic plan that I was hiding from you during the campaign. I’ll keep you posted,” she said.

Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, observed Sebelius’ news conference and said her comments were about what he expected.

“We’re going to be very patient and allow the governor-elect ample opportunity to review all the facts and put forward her plan,” said Kerr, who lost a bid to win the Republican nomination for governor.

But Kerr, a key budget lawmaker, has voiced displeasure with Sebelius’ notion that major savings can be found through performance audits.

“Most of us believe that we have done top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top and sideways reviews of state government budgets over the past several years,” he said.

And, he noted, Sebelius has promised not to cut public schools and higher education, which together make up two-thirds of the state budget.

Kerr and Sebelius spoke briefly after the news conference.

“I do need you,” Sebelius said to Kerr.

Kerr replied he was ready to meet with Sebelius whenever she wanted.

Later, Sebelius and Graves posed for photographers and then met privately for more than an hour to discuss the budget.