1.   Without the money, he says, the collection could fall silent.

2.   CHURCH collections have fallen for the first time for more than a decade, it emerged today.

3.   But in the end, this collection just fell short of those great expectations that hover over every Prada runway.

4.   Diplomats close to the United Nations said the seemingly chaotic collection of events fell into a clear pattern.

5.   Neither Pataki nor state tax and budget officials could say how far the bank tax collections have fallen.

6.   Preliminary indications, they say, suggest that collections may fall below projections.

7.   So if tax collections fall short of projections, the budget for next year will require changes.

8.   The drop of less than one-percent marked the first time in more than two years that monthly collections fell from the previous year.

9.   In other developments, the government acknowledged Wednesday that tax collection had fallen for the third straight month, drying up badly-needed money.

10.   In past years, the government has slashed spending and run up debts when revenue collections fell too low to cover what was promised in the budget.