Seeking to downplay a dustup between the city and state over budget spending, Mayor Bloomberg insisted yesterday that the disagreement with Governor Spitzer was not personal.

On Tuesday, Mr. Bloomberg blamed the state for a hole in the city’s budget, and a state official accused the mayor’s budget director of misleading the public, a fracas that appears to have fractured the cordial relationship the mayor and governor have forged.

“You want to make this a personal thing and it has nothing to do with personalities,” Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday. “Governor Spitzer, I’ve said repeatedly, is a good governor and we want him to be successful.”

City officials have said the state owes the city $747 million and are calling for another round of budget cuts for next year.

“The governor is trying to accommodate us, but he’s got other requirements and everyone is going to be in there fighting with Albany, the governor, the Legislature, in the sense of trying to make the case that our needs are important enough for the state,” the mayor said.

When pressed, Mr. Bloomberg did respond to a statement from the state’s budget director, Laura Anglin, who said on Tuesday that testimony from the city’s budget director, Mark Page, about the effect of the state’s budget on the city was inaccurate and highly misleading.

“I can’t go around making a comment on everybody’s statement,” Mr. Bloomberg said when asked about characterization of Mr. Page’s testimony before the City Council.

“Mark Page is probably as honest, as smart a person as this city could possibly employ. He is a dedicated public servant who I stand behind. I guarantee you, every once in a while Mark will make a mistake. This case, my understanding is, he did not make a mistake. But I don’t know what anybody upstate said,” he said.

“And it has nothing to do with personalities and we shouldn’t frame things in terms of personalities, nor do I think you should spend your time writing about it,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “The issues are too important here.”