ALBANY Despite a ballooning budget deficit and a months-long hiring freeze, the state government added hundreds of six-figure employees last year, an Albany-based think tank reported yesterday.
In 2008, state agencies added 232 employees with base salaries exceeding $100,000, according to the Manhattan Institute.
The well-heeled new hires, who included eight members of Gov. Paterson’s personal staff, were added as the overall workforce swelled by nearly 1,800.
“So far, the state workforce is proving to be resistant to change,” said Manhattan Institute analyst E.J. McMahon.
The list of big earners, dominated by SUNY and CUNY employees, was topped by Stephen Onesti, who earned $947,463 as chairman of Downstate Medical Center’s neurosurgery department.
A spokesman for Paterson’s budget office said most of the new hires were made by agencies the governor does not control, or filled posts vital to maintaining health and safety.