Maybe it's the old teacher in me, but when I think about getting back to basics, I think of the three R's...Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. So, when I think about helping to put the Nassau County budget back in shape, I think of three more R's...Reform, Responsibility and Restraint. It's going to take all of them, and all of us¬Democrats and Republicans; County Executive and Legislature¬if we are going to solve this problem.

That's why the recent announcing of the proposed plan by the members of the Democratic Caucus is not meant to initiate a contentious debate. Instead, it is what we are bringing to the table in, what I hope, will be a joint effort to reach a cohesive solution.

This plan is, we believe, in harmony with the priorities of the residents of Nassau County. When it comes to budgetary reform and restraint, it seeks to put spending cuts first. We know that we cannot go to the people of this county and expect them to sit by as their taxes are raised to pay for the care and maintenance of a bloated, top-heavy bureaucracy. We know that we cannot ask the people of Nassau County to show the kind of vision that values long-term planning over short-term quick fixes if we are not willing to show that same kind of vision ourselves. Furthermore, we know that we cannot expect the people of Nassau to follow a leadership that seems fixated on being a guardian of past practices and ignores the reality that the path to financial health can only come through innovation and responsible, practical action.

The most important point I would like to convey is that we are under no illusions about the difficulty of the task before us, nor are we under any illusion that our recovery plan is the final plan. But we are steadfast in our determination to be governed by the principles of reform, responsibility and restraint as we bring our ideas to the table and work to hammer out meaningful and lasting solutions to our county's budgetary problems.