As we go further and further into debt, borrowing again this year and next, here come the bribery checks.

Buffalo News - State begins rebating some property tax
ALBANY - The check is in the mail and, as promised, before Election Day.

The state tax department has begun the process of sending out $700 million worth of rebate checks to 3.4 million property taxpayers around New York as part of a deal the election-bound State Legislature worked out earlier this year with Gov. George E. Pataki.

The checks will be arriving in homes based on the alphabetical listing of the county in which homeowners reside. For Erie County residents, that means on or before Sept. 27-28; in Niagara County, between Oct. 5 and 10. The first checks to arrive in Western New York will head to Allegany County by Saturday.

The average check, like the amount of property taxes, varies widely around the state. In Western New York, the range of the rebate goes from $86 for property taxpayers in Lackawanna to $251 in the Sloan school district of Cheektowaga. The amounts rise for seniors enrolled in the enhanced STAR property tax program. The biggest rebate checks in the state - $563 for most taxpayers and $941 for seniors - will be sent to residents of Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County.