Citing huge growth in the cost of state health and social programs, Governor Deval Patrick's top budget official said today that he will offer "modest and limited new revenue proposals" for next year's budget.

Jay Gonzalez, secretary of administration and finance, would not specify whether those would mean taxes, fees, or some other new revenue source. He said they would be a small part of the state's approach to fixing a budget hole, but he would not rule out higher taxes as part of that fix.

Patrick is set to release his proposed spending plan on Jan. 25 for the budget year that begins in July. The state House and Senate will have their own proposals, and have in recent years rejected tax hikes. Once the Legislature passes a spending plan, Patrick would need to sign off.

An administration official said later this afternoon that the proposals would be the types of revenue increases that Patrick has proposed previously, and ruled out reintroducing an increase in the state gas tax. Patrick in recent years has proposed a number of small increases in fees and taxes - including an expansion of the state's bottle deposit law to include bottled water that has been rejected by the state legislature. He has also tried unsuccessfully to eliminate an exemption in the state sales tax that applies to soda and candy.