The "let's send property owners money right before the election" check for $170.55 just arrived at my house. I guess I'll cash the silly thing, but it's an annoying reminder of just how broken Albany has become. They drop program obligations on the counties and refuse to come up with a transparent approach to the schools, letting the state push tax increases down on to the the property tax, and then they send out a check as a semi-apology:
Dear Fellow New Yorker:
In accordance with the new STAR school property tax rebate program approved by Governor George Pataki and the State Legislature, we are pleased to provide you with the attached check to help reduce the burden of your 2006-07 school taxes. This money is in addition to your existing STAR benefit.
Sincerely,
Andrew S. Eristoff
Commissioner, Taxation and Finance
Boy, it's great to have Albany protecting us from the tax depredations of people who... wait, are basically stuck driven by Albany into charging us the rates that they do.
Posted by simon at October 18, 2006 12:38 PM in politics (state) , public finance