GOV.-ELECT Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. promises to hold many Marylanders harmless as he battles a yawning, $1.8-billion deficit.

He'll spare taxpayers: There'll be no increased sales or personal income levy, he says.

He won't penalize local governments - if they support his slot machine initiative. He wants to avoid laying off state employees. And public safety and education are immune from spending cuts.

But what of the state's neediest? What protections are offered to them?

If the new administration must make deep cuts in government programs, as much as $500 million according to some estimates, programs for the poor could be in jeopardy. But to slice these initiatives would not only show a lack of compassion, it would likely be pound-foolish, as well.

The helping programs reach across many state agencies, offering job training, child care and housing assistance. Many of these efforts are the result of long and difficult negotiating.

And there are better ways to make up Maryland's budget gap than taking from those who rely most on state government's aid. Mr. Ehrlich's budget team would do well to explore all the options: levying a temporary income tax surcharge on the wealthiest citizens, as was imposed from 1992 through 1994, or expanding the state sales tax to include services.

Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the union, so it ought to take even more care to protect those who depend on the government safety net.

Advocates for the poor argue quite properly that it makes good business sense to help people before their problems get critical and more expensive.

If day care for drug addicts' children is cut, addicts won't show up for treatment. If mothers with drug problems drop out of treatment, their children may end up in foster care, at a cost of thousands to the state.

The day care expense by comparison is cheap.

If help with transportation is lost, poor workers risk losing their jobs - and returning to public assistance. Almost 70 percent of those who were on welfare five years ago are working now. And no one wants to go back to the depths of the welfare system.

Groups like the Maryland Alliance for the Poor worry that their constituents are vulnerable to the deficit ax simply because so many costly spending programs are protected - and because Mr. Ehrlich has been so adamant about not raising taxes.

Mr. Ehrlich's team of budget builders includes former state Sen. Martin Madden, a prime architect of the state's welfare-to-work program passed several years ago. He knows the issues as well as anyone, so the concerns of the poor - and the financial interests of the state - should have a well-informed advocate on the new governor's transition team.

The chore of balancing a budget so sharply out of whack won't be easy. But it ought to go forward with the concerns of the state's most vulnerable citizens high on the priority list.