As the Election Day nears, candidates for Nassau's 14th Legislative District have been voicing their views on the top issues facing the county and local communities.

While last week the Observer featured an introduction of the candidates, this week we present their discussions of the issues. In recent interviews, incumbent Republican Salvatore Pontillo, Democratic challenger Kevin Gorman, and Rosemary Styne, the Independent candidate, expressed their opinions on topics ranging from the county budget deficit to the role of the Legislature, to the problems facing downtowns. On the county budget deficit, the candidates offered analysis of what caused the problem, and possible solutions.

Gorman said the deficit was caused by the financial mismanagement of the Republican County Executive, Thomas Gulotta and the Republican majority legislators.

"The Democrats have been saying for a number of years that the reliance on one-shot budget items and unrealistic revenue estimates was going to cause us to get into trouble, and it has. We're the only county in New York State with a deficit. Everybody else has surpluses deciding where to spend it," he said. "We have a $300 million deficit. We have a $2.8 billion debt and rising, which will probably top $3 billion by the end of the year, and we have a bond rating which is going through the cellar. It's basically symptomatic of a borrow, tax and spend attitude which is bankrupting our county and our future."

Pontillo said the deficit was largely attributable to the county's assessment review system, which he said he has been working to correct. He noted that the municipality collects not only county taxes, but also those for the school districts, towns and villages, and that when a property owner successfully challenges the assessment value of their property, the county provides the entire tax refund owed by all municipalities. The county uses bonding to pay for the entire amount of the tax certiorari claims, and gets only 20 percent of the money back from the other municipalities, he said, noting that this process has cost Nassau $1 billion in the last 20 years.

By pushing for the expansion of the county's assessment review board, the legislator said, he has helped ensure that the interest costs associated with the bonded tax certiorari claims will be reduced. He said that, for three years, he pushed for recently enacted state legislation that increases the window of opportunity for a property owner to file a grievance from 3 weeks to 3 months, and the operating time of the assessment review board from 3 to 12 months a year. This change, he noted, enables the county to correct overassessments more quickly, thereby cutting down on the amount of interest paid on tax grievances. Because the board will now work year-round, the change also reduces the number of backlogged cases, he added.

Pontillo believes the fledgling Legislature has developed an increasingly important role since being formed in 1996 to replace the Board of Town Supervisors, in an aim to give residents greater representation. "I think we've evolved. I think we're doing more work and being far more hands-on than anyone ever anticipated," he said.

He pointed to such initiatives as the Republican Budget Deficit Elimination Plan, which GOP legislators recommended to County Executive Gulotta in early September. The plan was a break from tradition for the legislature, which had never before proposed their own budget plan to Gulotta prior to his formal budget presentation. The Republican majority proposal recommends salary cuts for elected officials and department heads, as well as monthly monitoring of department budgets by the legislature in an effort to keep spending down. Pontillo said it was presented because the current fiscal problem faced by the county must be addressed. "Things today are anything but business as usual," he said.

He added, "This is like treating the county like a sick patient. You have to make sure that the care doesn't kill the patient. But you have to make sure also that you're aggressive enough to cure the disease."

But Gorman said the Republican Deficit Elimination Plan does not negate the GOP legislators' role in creating the deficit. "The fact of the matter is, that, the County Executive proposes, the Legislature disposes. Gulotta can only propose; they have to vote to accept," he said. "And the majority of the Legislature, including every Republican, has voted to accept the budgets over the last few years, which has resulted in the situation where we are now."

Pontillo, however, noted that the Legislature rolled back tax cuts proposed by Gulotta for the 1998 and 1999 budgets, because although politically popular, the tax cuts would not have been beneficial to the county's fiscal health.

To solve the county's deficit problem, Pontillo believes the legislature is going to have to come up with innovative ways of cutting spending and generating new revenue. For example, he said, the county should focus on consolidation in order to cut down on duplication of services already performed by towns and school districts, such as snow removal. He also proposed leasing county-owned re-charge basins to private companies for use as golf driving ranges. According to Pontillo, the land, which would include only sites not located near homes, would continue to serve the function of absorbing rainwater while generating rent money for the county. Such a deal would also include a provision that would entitle the county to a percentage of the profits from the golf fees.

Gorman said that the county needs better long-term financial planning, and a major overhaul of the assessment system, which he said costs Nassau hundreds of millions of dollars a year, in order to address the county deficit. He added that cutting unnecessary non-union jobs and relying more on the county's in-house legal staff, rather than outside legal services, could save millions of dollars. Gorman asserted that he is opposed to raising taxes to plug the gap.

Styne said that not only the Republican majority legislators, but all 19 members of the Legislature, are to blame for the budgetary shortfall. "They did the interviewing of department heads. They permitted the budget to go through the way it was," she said. "They didn't do anything to change it." She added that overspending by department heads is another major cause of the deficit.

Styne's major issue of concern is the condition of the county's downtowns. She said that competition from mega-stores is hurting small businesses in the downtowns, and that the Legislature should focus its efforts on encouraging downtown revitalization. She also believes that the legislators are currently spending too much time working on tax certiorari reviews, and should leave that task to the county attorneys. That, she said, would free up the legislators' time, enabling them to create more of the laws that are needed to improve the county.

The county's legislative candidates have been invited to present their ideas at upcoming candidate forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Nassau County. The 14th district candidates will appear on Oct. 19, at 7:45 p.m., at the Bethpage Library, 147 Powell Ave., Bethpage. For more information on the event, one may call the LWV at 433-9768.

The 14th Legislative District encompasses Farmingdale, part of Levittown, North Massapequa, Plainedge, part of Seaford and part of Wantagh. Election Day is Nov. 2. For voter registration information, one may call the Nassau County Board of Elections at 571-2411.