From the outset of her time as lieutenant governor, Healey focused intensely on public safety and criminal-justice programs, in addition to serving as the liaison between the Governor's office and the Republican Party and was the governor's municipal liaison. Immediately upon taking office, Romney and Healey focused on erasing an estimated $600 million budget gap for fiscal year 2003 that had been left by the previous administration. The state also faced an estimated $2 billion to $3 billion shortfall for fiscal year 2004.