Most New Yorkers are in favor of increasing the personal income taxes on relatively wealthy people — but they want that done in concert with budget cuts to remedy the state’s fiscal woes, says a poll to be released today by the Working Families Party.

The results of the Nov. 23-25 inquiry by Kiley & Co. show that most of the 600 voters contacted last month favored major surgery on state spending. But they backed off a bit when the cuts are in health care and public education.

By a spread of 76 percent to 26 percent, voters favor a combination approach — an increase in income taxes with budget cuts.

Fifty-five percent favored major cuts, but just 9 percent wanted to reduce Medicaid by $1.7 billion over the next year and a half; 84 percent favored a 5-cent deposit on bottled water; 56 percent supported requiring public employees to forfeit a 3 percent pay raise; and 75 percent favored increasing personal income taxes on people earning $200,000 or more.

The latter will be a primary point in the WFP’s lobbying effort. Executive Director Dan Cantor says the polling was independently conducted. “These are not surprising numbers,” he said. “What is surprising is this is not what the government is doing. You can’t cut your way out of (the deficit), you can’t tax your way. You need a balanced approach.”

Indeed, when Gov. David Paterson puts out his 2009-2010 budget on Tuesday, and when Senate Republican put out their plan today, don’t expect to see the tax hike included in the proposed remedies to cure a $14 billion shortfall over the next 15 months. The Assembly Democrats have been the most vocal proponents of raising the personal income tax, although they wanted it applied to millionaires back when there were so many Wall Street employees in the seven-digit club.

The poll found that 61 percent desired tapping into the state’s $1.2 billion “rainy-day fund,” something Paterson is averse to doing.

Matthew Shelter of Kiley & Co., which has been polling for the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee for 25 years, said the poll covered New York randomly: 33 percent from New York City, 26 percent from its suburbs, and 41 percent upstate.

Espada’s salary

If the personal income tax rises on wealthy New Yorkers, Sen.-elect Pedro Espada Jr. would likely be affected, unless he cuts ties with the nonprofit organization paying him as its president. The most recent IRS filing for Comprehensive Community Development Corp., a Bronx group that lists itself as a provider of a broad range of health services to a “largely medically under-served population” in Manhattan and the Bronx, paid Espada $379,507, in 2006, including $41,356 in deferred compensation. The money came from $12.14 million in revenue.

Espada said he may walk away from the pay depending on the outcome of the leadership struggle in the Senate, where members receive a base pay of $79,500 but are eligible for stipends based on assignments won from the leader.

“Those are discussions I will be having with my board of directors,” Espada said. “The issue of what position and the level of responsibility I will have will determine (that).”

“This was never about economics, it was never about power,” Espada said about his quest to be majority leader. “It was about empowerment of the fastest-growing population in the state, and changing the culture of the Senate.”

Capitol Confidential was compiled by James M. Odato.