Democratic and Republican senators laid out separate power-sharing plans at a closed-door meeting Thursday afternoon with the governor, who is now acting as a moderator between the two sides.

State Senate leaders emerged from the meeting, hopeful that the three-and-a-half-week long stalemate will soon be resolved.

The Democrats submitted a short-term solution, while the Republicans gave Paterson a long-term remedy.

Both parties will meet with Paterson again Friday to iron out details of a possible plan, and by the governor’s orders will meet every day for special sessions through the Fourth of July holiday weekend, until July 6.

“He is attempting to mediate so that we can move the process forward by getting some bills passed and restoring some confidence in the people around the state,” said Democratic Queens Senator Malcolm Smith.

“The best approach is a bottom-up approach, but we cannot miss any opportunity to reach an agreement,” said Democratic Bronx Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who is currently siding with Republicans.

Meantime, until a deal is reached the senators will be paying out of pocket for the governor-prescribed emergency sessions.

Paterson asked State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to freeze the travel vouchers for all state senators and is working on putting a hold on their salaries.

Saying that the State Senate’s “stalemate is costing taxpayers across the state millions of dollars a day,” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said his office is withholding more than 250 vouchers, totaling $560,000, until the legislative body’s power struggle can be resolved.

The withheld payments include lawmakers’ daily $160 travel vouchers for transportation, lodging and food.

The comptroller also released a report that says the Senate’s failure to act has cost the city $902 million in lost sales taxes and business taxes.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg previously said the Senate’s failure to vote on a half-percent tax increase is keeping as much as $60-million in revenue from the city.

“What $60 million buys you is 500 or 600 police officers for a year. What $60 million buys you is all the support services for the 200 engines and 150 new ladders that the fire department has,” said the mayor.

DiNapoli also filed a lawsuit in the state supreme court that asks judges to “clarify the constitutional and statutory obligations surrounding this matter.”

Governor David Paterson has threatened every day since last Wednesday to withhold senators’ pay.

Not surprisingly, lawmakers are speaking out against the salary freeze.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but if this session ended on July 2, we would be working in the district offices, we answer letters, we read letters,” said Democratic State Senator William Stachowski of Erie County. “So we have all this work we are supposed to be doing out of session. The fact that you are in session or not does not constitute if you are working or not. The reality is there is a lot more to our jobs than just being in session, the short number of days that we are in session each year.”

The Senate held their now-daily meeting at 3 p.m. and gaveled in and out without voting on any legislation.

Also, Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. told NY1 he will not be in Albany on Sunday.

“Sunday, I will be in my church; I will not be here,” he said. “And if he wants to send the troopers to arrest me in my church, he can do that.”

According to the Associated Press, the stalemate is not only weighing on taxpayers’ nerves, but also their wallets.

The AP says it has cost taxpayers more than $94,000. The figure includes about $9,500 daily for the expenses being incurred by the 59 senators that do not live in the Albany area.

It remains unknown at this point how much comp time senators will eventually have to give staffers to cover overtime.

The stalemate began on June 8, when all 30 Republicans senators and two Democrats voted to oust Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. One of the rogue Democrats, State Senator Hiram Monserrate, then changed his allegiance to the Democrats.

Meanwhile, the State Senate’s inaction caused the mayor’s control over city schools to expire at midnight Wednesday.

The five borough presidents then went right to work yesterday and quickly appointed a new Board of Education that is stacked with members who are likely to back Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Members have already voted to retain Joel Klein as schools chancellor, picked a board president and passed a resolution urging the State Senate to move quickly to give control over city schools back to the mayor.

The board will not be meeting again until September, in what critics say is a sign that the mayor and schools chancellor will have free reign to continue running schools.

(Source: NY1)