PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer said Friday she wants a special election for her proposed tax hike held this fall, not a year from now.

Senate President Bob Burns criticizes the demand Monday by Gov. Jan Brewer that he immediately send her the 10 bills in the budget package approved more than a week ago. Burns said he and House Speaker Kirk Adams remain interested in negotiating with the governor and hope the Arizona Supreme Court refuses to consider her anticipated lawsuit seeking to force the Legislature to let go of the bills. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer)

The governor, speaking with reporters following a closed-door meeting with Senate President Bob Burns, said she remains convinced that the only way to balance the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is by raising taxes. But Brewer, recognizing there are not sufficient votes to do that directly, said she’s willing to accept the alternative of simply her plan to hike the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax by a penny to the ballot.

And Burns said earlier this week he is convinced that giving the governor what she wants is going to be necessary to resolve the dispute between her and Republican lawmakers over the budget.

Now the question turns to timing.

“It would be my wish to have it sent to the people in October, at a special election,’’ Brewer said.

Burns, however, who already is getting resistance from GOP lawmakers to any tax hike vote, said that idea of a fall election is going to be difficult to sell.

Part of it, he said, is a simple matter of money: He said it would cost $12 million for a special election; putting it on the 2010 ballot, when there already is a statewide election, costs nothing.

And Burns said there is some belief that special elections result in a very low turnout. That could favor tax hike supporters who are likely to have a lot of money to try to sell the idea.

“I’m not looking to ‘game’ the process,’’ Brewer said. “I’m looking to solve the problem.’’

Brewer also sidestepped questions of whether she has a contingency plan in case a deal cannot be reached by the time the new budget year begins July 1.

House Minority Leader David Lujan, after meeting with Brewer earlier this week, quoted her as saying that she was prepared to shut down government if the Republican-controlled Legislature does not accede to her proposal for higher taxes.

“I did not say that,’’ the governor said. Instead, Brewer said she simply told Lujan that “it would be a shame if government had to shut down.’’

So what plans does she have if there is no deal?

“We certainly do not hope that we have to cross that bridge,’’ Brewer responded.

She noted that lawmakers have approached June 30 in prior years without a budget. The governor said, though, the work gets done — even in 1992 when they actually went a couple of days in July — without shutting down the state.

“Sometimes (with) the pressure of the clock ticking, things get resolved faster,’’ she said.

Brewer said talks on the budget will continue through the weekend.

Aside from Brewer’s call for a tax hike to raise $1 billion, the governor has said the budget adopted by lawmakers last week is not properly balanced and contains provisions she believes would endanger federal stimulus dollars. Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams have decided not to send that budget plan to her while negotiations continue.