Surprise: State Senate Staffers' Salaries Sweetened

NY1 has an exclusive report on "three dozen aides of state senators whose salaries noticeably grew over the past three months." Senate Democrats won the majority for the first time in over years and are paying accordingly: Nassau Sen. Craig Johnson's chief of staff's "salary climbed 63 percent, from $47,500 in 2008 to $77,500 this year" while Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein's chief of staff "saw his wages grow by 36 percent, from $55,000 in 2008 to $75,000 this year. Four other people in Klein's office saw salary increases, but their positions stayed the same." Now in the majority, Senate Dems have more responsibilities—Klein is the deputy majority leader—and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith tells NY1, "Remember, staff don't get paid for a Saturday and Sunday and overtime. So even a salary bump, if you had to pay them by the hour, they're being paid a whole lot less than what they're worth in terms of the time that they're putting in." And it's payback from the days of the Brunomobile.