HONOLULU -- Linda Lingle has learned she will have only enough money for a skeleton staff when she takes over the governor's office.

That's because the Legislature slashed almost a million dollars from the governor's staff budget.

It also cut in half the transition money for a new governor.

Gov. Ben Cayetano has about 60 staffers assigned to his office. However, the Legislature this year, in a budget-cutting move, cut $950,000 from the governor's personnel budget.

That mean's when Lingle is in office, starting Jan. 1 there will be only enough money for six office staffers.

Lingle won't be able to run the governor's office with just six office staffers, officials said. Her only recourse will be to go to the Legislature for an emergency appropriation for more office staffing.

Sam Callejo, Cayetano's Chief of Staff, is upset about the cuts.

"I sent letters to both the Ways and Means chair and the Finance chair to let them know they should be putting that back in because it is not the proper way to manage who ever the governor is they need adequate staff,"

UH law professor Randy Roth has been working on Lingle's transition to governor for the last two months.

He and Chief of Staff Bob Awana just found out about the money and staffing problems Thursday and they are trying to do something about it.

Roth said he's thankful for Callejo's understanding and help. Lawmakers also cut the transition budget for a new governor from $100,000 to $50,000. Callejo said lawmakers made the money cuts purely for budget reasons.

"I don't know if it could be considered spiteful because they did not know who was going to be governor. If that was their way of balancing the budget that was not the proper way of doing it," Callejo said.

The Senate president's office Thursday confirmed the money had been cut from the governor's budget earlier this year because they needed to cut money wherever possible.