Because Gov.-elect Tom Corbett will soon be head of all state government departments, he’ll have the power to fulfill his campaign pledge to balance the budget without raising taxes, according to state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, one of 11 regional members of Corbett’s transition team.

“It’s a great challenge,” said Corman, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and member of the transition team’s budget, pensions and revenue committee. “But it can be done.”

The area where costs have grown the most and where there’s the biggest opportunity for savings is the Department of Public Welfare, Corman said.