An exclusive NY1 investigation found about three dozen aides of state senators whose salaries noticeably grew over the past three months. NY1's Josh Robin filed the following report.

To the victors go the spoils. Fresh from ousting Republicans from more than 40 years of state senate control, Democrats have dished out hundreds of thousands of dollars in raises to select staffers, even amid a fiscal crisis expected to require tax hikes and deep spending cuts.

A NY1 investigation found about three dozen aides saw their salaries grow in the past three months.

Among the aides is the deputy chief of staff for Nassau Senator Craig Johnson, whose salary climbed 63 percent, from $47,500 in 2008 to $77,500 this year.

The chief of staff for Bronx Senator Jeff Klein 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.

With their new majority, Democratic lawmakers say they and their staffs have gained new responsibilities. Johnson became a committee chairman and Klein has become the Senate's deputy majority leader.

"Remember, staff don't get paid for a Saturday and Sunday and overtime," said Senator Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. "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."

Johnson did not want to appear on camera.

"Their level of responsibility has only increased since January 7, so because of that, they are compensated in line with what the previous Republican majority was paying its staffers for similar duties," said Johnson spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

"My staff, you know, as well as I do, work 24/7," said Klein. "Now I'm the deputy majority leader, the number two senator in the state, so they automatically assume more responsibility."

As those responsibilities have grown for Democratic senators, so have the number of staffers, committee aides and central staff working for the Democrats. Meanwhile, resources for Republicans will be a fraction of what they were when they were in the majority.

To good government advocate Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, that spells a troublesome, if familiar, Albany way of rewarding those in power.

"The Democrats are in charge, the shoe's on the other foot," says Horner. "They're gobbling up all the resources at the expense of the Republicans."

Democrats say they do plan to cut the Senate's $100 million budget by 10 percent overall, making fewer hires and taking other measures. But that is just a tiny amount in the face of the state's multi-billion dollar deficit.