ALBANY — Pink slips will be falling like confetti in the state Senate in the new year after Republicans yesterday ordered vanquished Senate Democrats to slash $4 million from the chamber’s bloated payroll.
The incoming GOP majority has told the defeated Democratic leadership to cut hundreds of staffers by Jan. 20 to help close a $7 million to $14 million hole blown in the Senate budget during the Dems’ leadership tenure.
The austerity order was among the GOP’s first acts since the state’s highest court last week unanimously denied a recount in the last contested Senate race and restored Republicans to power in the narrowly divided chamber.
Albany’s spoils system ensures that the majority parties in both houses of the Legislature command far more resources for staff and supplies, but Democrats had asked Republicans to preserve all Senate jobs until the fiscal year ends on March 31.
Republicans say Democratic overspending has left them no choice but to immediately bring down the ax.
“It’s not about pink slips, it’s about a reduction in the budget because they’ve grossly overspent,” said Sen. Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton).
The Democrats expect to exceed their $29 million staff budget by $7 million while the Republicans expect to come in $2 million under their $23 million allocation.
A spokesman for Senate Democrats declined to comment.
Republicans say the deficit could be as large as $14 million by year’s end — or 15 percent over the chamber’s overall $91.9 million budget.
Senate insiders blame the overrun largely on a three-headed leadership structure set up by Democrats in the wake of the 2009 coup fiasco.
That pact guaranteed hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff to now-indicted coup leader Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx) and allowed lame-duck Senate leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) to keep most of his top aides on the public payroll.