Gov. Beverly Perdue, who huddled with her budget advisors Monday afternoon, said she is getting close to producing a proposed budget for next year.

"I'm getting in the short rows," Perdue told reporters after a brief appearance at a tourism conference at the Raleigh Convention Center, reports Rob Christensen.

"In my head, I know how I am going to balance this year's budget," Perdue said. "I have a pretty good idea about the next two years. A lot of people are going to be furious, but I'm going to do it the way I think I need to do it."

Perdue has said she plans to release her budget recommendations for the next fiscal year by mid-March.

But because of the declining economy, Perdue said she may not be finished.

"I may have to go in and do more cuts in June or July of this year," Perdue said. "Who knows how bad it's going to get. I'm quite aware I may have to do a supplemental budget right after I get my first budget out."

Gov. Beverly Perdue is on vacation this week at an undisclosed location.

Chrissy Pearson, Perdue's spokeswoman, said she had long planned a vacation this week with her husband, Bob Eaves.

Pearson said she did not know where Perdue was vacationing, but the unconfirmed gossip at the Emerging Issues forum was that she was out of the country, Rob Christensen reports.

Perdue sent a recorded video message to the 1,000 leaders at the forum's luncheon at the Raleigh Convention Center, rather than appearing personally.

Pearson described Perdue’s get-away as a "working vacation" saying she brought budget books and other work along with her. The vacation comes less than a month after she took office.