A Supersecret Pay Hike

Shhh. The state Legislature would really prefer that no one say anything about, or even notice, the quiet drive to hike its members’ pay until it’s a done deal.

The commission that will pull the trigger on the salary increase held one “public” meeting Tuesday . . . at 11 a.m. in Albany. The next one is in Manhattan — Friday at noon at the SUNY Global Center, 116 East 55th St. Is that convenient for you?

Created this year by one of those “three men in a room” deals, the New York State Compensation Committee will announce its pay-hike recommendation early next month — and it’ll become law unless the Legislature rushes back to Albany for a special session to vote it down. (Pigs will fly first.)

The roundabout secrecy is meant to keep all fingerprints off the move, because pay hikes for lawmakers poll really badly.

That’s why the “three men” put the deci- sion in the hands of the state and city comptrollers, Tom DiNapoli and Scott Stringer, plus two ex-comptrollers, Carl McCall and Bill Thompson — who now head the SUNY and CUNY boards. That is, four politicians who’d prefer to keep the Legislature’s goodwill. Expect a generous pay hike.

To be fair, lawmakers’ pay has been flat since a 1998 increase; it hasn’t even had a costof-living adjustment. Meanwhile, ethics reforms have cut down their ability to earn outside income — even perfectly ethical ones.

On the other hand, base pay starts at $79,500, which is still more than your average New Yorker makes. And legislators get a few perks, too — including per diem expenses covered whenever they’re in session.

Then, too, some might argue that part of the problem up in Albany is that so many lawmakers have been there long enough to

remember that 1998 hike.