Large crowds greeted Gov. Janet Napolitano during her visit to the city Wednesday, where she gave two long talks — one focused on issues facing senior citizens, and another outlining her plan to revive the state’s slumping economy.

John Rudolf/News-Herald Photo. Gov. Janet Napolitano speaks Wednesday at the Senior Center in Lake Havasu City. The governor addressed the state budget and issues facing the elderly.

Napolitano did not attempt to sugarcoat the state’s anemic economic condition.

“I think it’s no surprise to anyone that after several years of very, very rapid growth, when our economy was really the hottest in the nation in every respect, last May, we hit the wall, and that was in large part due to the housing market demise,” Napolitano said.

Declining tax revenues and increasing social service needs were among the state’s largest challenges, Napolitano told members of the Lake Havasu City Chamber of Commerce, during a lunchtime speech.

“When the economy goes down, the demand for safety-net services like Medicaid goes up,” Napolitano said. “Government is not like a business in this respect. We are counter-cyclical.”

With the governor and state Legislature hammering out a fix a month ago for the $1.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year and facing and a projected revenue shortfall of $1.8 billion for the coming year, balancing the budget was a top concern.

“Between the two years, we’re talking about a $3 billion hole,” Napolitano said. “My goal is to manage this so that we come out stronger than we went in, and that requires, at a state level, a budget that makes sense.”

Two proposals still working themselves through the Legislature would patch the budget hole by essentially emptying the state’s rainy-day fund over two years, and using bonds, rather than cash, to pay for new school construction.

The bond-financing mechanism would in itself sweep $760 million in cash back into the budget, while the rainy-day fund would provide about $775 million in immediate funds.

Ralph Tapscott, president of Mohave State Bank, asked the governor about the proposed fund sweeps, which are anticipated to divert millions away from planned improvements at state parks on Lake Havasu into the general fund budget. Tapscott asked the governor to keep in mind the potential impact the cuts could have on the local economy, calling the tourists that come to visit the lake the “goose that lays our golden eggs.”

Napolitano said the sweeps, which in all total about $300 million for the current fiscal year, were not any easy decision, but they would be reduced in future years. She estimated that the sweeps would be reduced by two-thirds by next year, down to about $100 million.

Napolitano also sought support for a proposed transportation initiative that will likely be on the ballot this coming year. The initiative would increase the state sales tax by one cent over the next 30 years, to pay for a wide variety of transportation projects.

At a talk before a large crowd at the Lake Havasu Senior Center, the governor touted new initiatives aimed at easing the transition of senior citizens back into the workforce which includes the launch a new Web site aimed at aiding seniors navigate the job market.

Called the AZ Mature Worker Job Bank and Resource Web, the site will provide resources for seniors searching the job market and for employers interested in hiring older workers.

“We are uniting older Arizonans who want to return to work with employers who are looking for more mature workers,” said Napolitano.

The Web site is online at www.azmatureworkers.com.

Employers will be able to post jobs on the Web site free of charge.

An employer-certification program to provide special recognition to senior-friendly employers has also been launched.

Napolitano encouraged seniors to take advantage of other existing programs created by the newly-created Governor’s Office on Aging.

One program is the CoppeRx Card, which provides Arizonans with discounts on prescription drugs. The card can be particularly useful for seniors on the new Medicare Part D program, which has a so-called “donut hole,” when initial coverage is exhausted and before extended coverage kicks in.

“If you’re in the donut, that Copper card can be used to reduce the cost of your prescriptions,” Napolitano said.

Another initiative helps seniors find what benefits they are eligible for.

“We learned that there are a lot of things out there that people didn’t know about that they were entitled to,” Napolitano said.

Seniors are directed to call 1-800-432-4040 or visit http://www.benefitscheckup.org for more information on the program.

The Governor’s Office on Aging can be found online at http://www.azgovernor.gov/aging/.