Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will announce plans Tuesday to try to find savings to help solve each state's massive budget shortfall.

"This has to do with finding efficiencies," Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said. "We're all looking for good ways to save money."

Full details weren't available Monday. But experts said more cooperation between the states could represent an important shift in how they deliver services to citizens — a change that could save money for taxpayers but one that would also face a host of political difficulties.

Former state Administration Secretary Mark Bugher said a Doyle administration official had approached him for suggestions. Bugher called more collaboration "a great idea" and said he gave the administration several suggestions.

"It's that kind of approach where the two states gang up and provide services to both states basically for the administrative costs of one," Bugher said. "I think they've been looking for the last several months at state policies and state programs where they could drive some kind of efficiencies."

Wisconsin faces a projected budget shortfall of $5.4 billion and Minnesota faces a shortfall of $4.8 billion.
The announcement will be made first in St. Paul and then in Madison at the Capitol around 1:30 p.m., Sensenbrenner said.