At the start of his second term, it appears that Governor Carcieri might be looking to pare down his staff a bit.

Last week, word spread through the State House that there might be some personnel changes coming in the next few weeks.

This first staff-level change appears to be the departure of Donna Perry, who was brought into the governor’s media office to help with the workload while Carcieri was campaigning. His government spokesman, Neal, had switched over to the campaign and Perry was added to the state payroll to assist.

Neal would not say much last week about any pending personnel changes. But regarding Perry he said: “Now that I have returned to the governor’s office and the pace has died down some, it is appropriate for Donna to look for other opportunities that might better fit her schedule as a working mother with two young children.”