There soon could be fewer state workers managing the state’s property, computer networks, printing, budgeting and personnel.

Gov. Chris Gregoire wants those “enterprise” functions combined in a single agency, the “Department of Enterprise Services.”

That’s one proposal Gregoire laid out today as part of a broader consolidation for state government. The enterprise agency would consolidate the departments of General Administration, Personnel and the state printer, along with portions of Information Services, and the governor’s budget office and some of the back-office work being done by other agencies.

The enterprise consolidation alone would save the state $18.3 million this biennium and eliminate 95 jobs, part of $30 million in savings Gregoire predicted today.

The agencies with expertise in those back-office functions would do it better, she said. For example: the secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services wasn’t exactly hired for her expertise in leasing building space.

And Gregoire promised the new agency would operate on a “private sector model,” responding to complaints that services like printing would be better off privatized.

The agency would be told: “You’ve got to compete. You’ve got to deliver the services. You can’t just bill us.”

UPDATED 6:10 p.m. to clarify that merger affects only portions of Information Services and the budget office.