A top Paterson administration official said Wednesday that planning to lay off state workers — needed to realize $250 million in workforce savings counted in the budget — will begin in earnest next month.

“We have, as you know, an early retirement program that we’re working through with state agencies,” Budget Director Bob Megna said in an interview with New York Now to be aired Friday.

“I don’t think we can get to the $250 million just through the early retirement program, but I think we want to see where we are with that program over the next week, 10 days, where we think savings are,” Megna said. “And then after that, I think we need to sit down with the governor … and decide if we need to take further actions, including layoffs.”

Paterson has attempted to lag pay for state workers and furlough employees one day a week in order to achieve his savings. He also asked employees to forgo a scheduled raise earlier this year. All the proposal were rebuffed by unions representing public employees, and the furlough attempt was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.

The unions have argued that concessions required by the governor unfairly abrogate their existing collective bargaining agreements, and have proposed finding workforce savings by replacing outside consultants with unionized employees. They also claim Paterson is bound by a pledge to not lay off workers until 2011, an agreement forged when unions acquiesced to the creation of a new, less-generous pension tier for new employees.

Paterson originally said he would wait until the first of the year to lay off workers, but later said he felt it would unfairly “kick the can” to the next governor were he to do so. Paterson is not seeking another term in office. Megna said that planning now was necessary given the “complicated” nature of planning for layoffs.

“It’s not something where you can say, ‘oh, I’m going to lay off people tomorrow,’ and then make it happen,” he said. “It’s a lengthy process, so it is a process that would certainly, in all likelihood, extend into the next governor’s administration, so I think you have to take it very seriously and very careful.”