As a result, the county is borrowing more heavily than usual against anticipated property taxes.

Like many local and state governments, the county has borrowed against future tobacco company payments and is now proposing a refinancing.

The county borrowed to pay the refunds, incurring a $1 billion debt that helped create a fiscal crisis in the late 1990s.

Nassau's bonds are akin to i.o.u.'s sold to investors; the county borrows money now and agrees to pay it back later with interest.

"The county is basically borrowing money from its employees," said one union worker who asked not to be named.

Such a change and the possible purchase of bond insurance would help the county borrow more cheaply.

Whether the county could borrow against this anticipated revenue had been the subject of much back and forth - and a county referendum.

But appeals of tax assessments, known as certioraris, already cost the county more than $100 million a year in refunds, which the county is borrowing to pay.

The county borrowed heavily, rather than lay off employees or reduce services.

Since 1986, the last time Nassau's commercial properties were reassessed, the county has borrowed $1.6 billion to refund property owners who have successfully challenged their assessments.