“Efficiency” is what the University of North Georgia, along with the other merged institutions in the University System of Georgia, hoped to achieve when consolidating more than a year ago. The overall budget for 2014 is nearly $1.9 million less after the consolidation of the former Gainesville State College with Dahlonega’s North Georgia College & State University, forming the University of North Georgia. The budget decrease between fiscal years 2013 and 2014 amounts to 1.1 percent of the total operating budget of $168 million.