ALBANY -- The State Thruway Authority paid millions of dollars in overtime to its employees last year -- nearly doubling some of their salaries.

An analysis done by The Buffalo News found that 200 Thruway employees made more than $10,000 each in overtime.

For example, an operator at the Tappan Zee Bridge nearly doubled his earnings when he received $32,317 in overtime, according to the paper. A toll collector in Albany earned $26,175 in overtime.

The agency spent about $8.7 million on employee overtime in 2006, out of an approximately $762.2 million total budget, said Michael Fleischer, executive director of the Thruway Authority. The overtime amounts to only 5.8 percent of the overall budget, but some lawmakers are still upset about the amount of overtime paid out and a proposed toll increase.

U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, of Buffalo, said it's a sign of mismanagement.

"I'm all for fair and reasonable compensation, but when a public authority is abusing its autonomy we need to hold that public authority in check," he said. "The best way to do that, at least initially, is to have greater oversight."

Thruway Authority officials are expected to vote on a package that recommends proceeding with a previously approved increase averaging 10 percent in January, followed by 5 percent increases in each of the following two years. The vote was temporarily postponed.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is auditing the Thruway Authority to determine if the hike is essential.

"It increases the cost of doing business," he said. "It has an impact on commerce, it has an effect on people commuting."

DiNapoli said the overtime pay did not play into his decision to audit the agency.

Fleischer said the agency's overtime spending has been static since 1996. In the same period, the agency has eliminated 450 full-time staff positions.

"Which, in context, I think shows the authority is managing its costs and the use of overtime," Fleischer said. "We think the way we're using it is more cost efficient than hiring more personnel."