ALBANY — The top Democrat in the state Senate accused Gov. Cuomo Monday of trying to gain leverage in stalled negotiations ahead of the state budget by threatening to block a pay raise scheduled for legislators.

“He’s predicting that we will have a late budget. I don’t see any reason to have a late budget,” said Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) of the governor’s $175 billion budget proposal, which is comprised of state and federal funds.

“Why? I don’t know..I don’t know I really don’t.”

Negotiations on state revenue projections fell apart Saturday, when both the state Senate and Assembly put approximate revenues at $1 billion higher than the $168.2 billion proposal the governor had estimated.

“Frankly, we were shocked,” Stewart-Cousins said on the Capitol Pressroom radio show, noting the governor is the first in history to end talks after a mere 36 hours.

Legislative salaries were raised this year from $79,500 to $110,000. A second raise to $120,000 kicks in next year — but only if the state budget is adopted by April 1.

“Not true,” shot back Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi on claims the governor walked away from the negotiating table.

“Also, Leader Stewart-Cousins said she `scratched her head’ on why the governor thinks timing is an issue. We are realistically two weeks away from needing a budget deal to get bills done on time and we have made no meaningful progress on any substantive matter,” Azzopardi added.

Cuomo himself said “being right” was more important than meeting the deadline.

“And yeah, legislatures like to spend. It’s the Italian grandmother that food is a proxy for love, eat, eat, eat,” Cuomo on WAMC radio.

With Cuomo and the state Senate stalemated on the revenue number, the task falls to state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to decide the matter.