With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday eliminated an office that his predecessor set up specifically to handle a troubled welfare benefits system.

Ritter said the Office of Colorado Benefits Management System is no longer "necessary or efficient."

"Thanks to a new spirit of cross-departmental cooperation and accountability, we can save the taxpayers money and deliver services more efficiently by signing this executive order," the governor announced.

Former Gov. Bill Owens created the office in 2005 to try to get a handle on a new computer payment system that turned into a nightmare for the state, resulting in delayed welfare payments and lawsuits.

Owens tapped one of the state's most respected lawmakers, Rep. John Witwer, R-Evergreen, to oversee the two-person office.

Witwer resigned last fall after voters approved Amendment 41, which limited former lawmakers' ability to appear before the legislature.

Ritter thanked Witwer for "needed reforms and changes."

Two departments were in disagreement over how to handle the computer system. "The governor needed someone to knock their heads together and that's what John Witwer did," former Owens staffer Mike Beasley said.

CBMS will now be run by the departments of Human Services and Health Care Policy and Financing. The savings to taxpayers is about $200,000.