Nassau County Legislator John Ciotti is out in his hometown of Valley Stream, knocking on doors, meeting constituents. Election Day is nearing and Ciotti is campaigning to hold on to his seat on the legislature.

Ciotti, a Republican who is looking to retain seat in the 3rd Legislative District, a position he has held since the Nassau County Legislature was formed six years ago, thinks of himself as a community-minded individual.

The district, which encompasses Elmont, part of Floral Park, Franklin Square, and part of North Valley Stream, is unique in that it has a diverse population as well as the largest senior population out of any district in the legislature, Ciotti explains.

A primary goal, he says, is to make it possible for seniors to stay in their homes and for young people to settle in Nassau County, which sometimes seems like an impossible mission considering rising taxes and costs of properties. "Any percentage tax increase can be devastating," Ciotti said.

Among the measures taken to keep the cost of living affordable to seniors, the window of opportunity to qualify for the senior citizen property tax exemption was expanded. The exemption was also expanded to include the physically challenged. Exemptions for families of veterans were also expanded, Ciotti said. "If a family loses a child because of the supreme sacrifice while in service, they also qualify for a veteran's exemption."

As the representative of the district with the largest senior population, Ciotti views his role as one that will enable seniors to continue to live in the county.

With the county's fiscal dilemma well documented, elected officials such as those in the legislature are seeking ways to cut the county's deficit. All agree it will take some tough decisions like those made last year, when the Democratic majority of the legislature proposed a 15.4 percent property tax increase. The increase was vetoed by the county executive and Republican members of the legislature, such as Ciotti, voted not to override the veto. The end result was a property tax increase of seven to eight percent.

"I never promised no tax increase. I always promised to be reasonable and make sure our working families can retain themselves in this community," Ciotti said.

There are other tax proposals Ciotti voted against such as a surcharge on 911 and emergency services calls. "There's an actual tax on your phone bill if you look at it," he said, also citing a 35 percent sewer district property tax increase he voted against.

Ciotti thinks of himself as a fiscal conservative as he vows to look for ways of cutting spending first rather than seeking to raise revenues via tax increases. Because he represents a district with not only diverse communities, but also some transient community, Ciotti feels as though he has to be more fiscally conservative than some of the legislature's other districts. "We have a lot of people moving in and we have the senior citizens who are staying. I have a 22-year-old, a 21-year-old and a 19-year-old kid and I don't want them to move out," he said.

Some have suggested a progressive income tax to help get Nassau out of its financial difficulties. A progressive income tax is something Ciotti opposes. "I'm looking to cut costs, cuts costs and cut costs while at the same time preserve the quality of services," he emphasized. "I believe it can be done and has been done."

In 1999, as Ciotti was running for re-election, he vowed to cut costs by consolidating government and streamlining departments. He said the idea has already been put in motion, citing parks merging into general services and minority affairs merging with the department of public affairs. "In the last two years, we've been able to do that, saving effectively thousands and thousands of dollars," he said.

Of the 14 committees in the legislature, Ciotti sits on eight of them. He sees that as a great benefit since he has knowledge of many different components of the legislature and it allows him, in many instances, to work in a bipartisan fashion.

He cited working with Democratic majority leader Judy Jacobs to cut funds from the budget, mandated by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. He also cited working with Jacobs to help to restore cuts made to the Nassau County Youth Board, which affected agencies such as Gateway Youth Outreach in Elmont.

Although Ciotti has been in the legislature for six years, during the time when Nassau's financial troubles became public, his philosophy remains the same as it has been. "We can do one of two things. We can substantially raise taxes or we can cut," said Ciotti, who is an attorney and has an accounting background. "If we had cut exactly what needed to be cut all at once, we would have shutdown government. From 1996 to 1999, we cut over $100 million dollars."

After the last election, another $100 million was cut, Ciotti said. "Sixty million dollars of that was done by Judy Jacobs and myself in three days because of the NIFA advisory board, but the reality was, it was taken care of," he added.

Ciotti believes he is ready to continue to make the tough decisions necessary to continue Nassau County on its path to fiscal stability. He cites initiatives to reduce labor costs such as a new employee contribution towards health insurance premiums, elimination of three paid holidays, ending the practice of accumulated vacation and sick time and the implementation of a responsible wage pattern to reduce the county's deficit.

Ciotti admits though he is concerned with a contract with a $50 million dollars contract to the Sheriff Officers Association, which was passed by the Democratic majority. Ciotti voted against offering the contract, but it was a difficult decision.

One of Ciotti's closest friends, he said, is the president of the sheriff's union. '"It the hardest vote I've ever had to take," he said. However, Ciotti said the contract wasn't in the best interests of the county's residents.

Whether to cut costs in some cases or raise taxes in others will be among the tough decisions the next legislature will have to make. Ciotti believes he has been making difficult decisions to get the county back on track.

"My philosophy has been and always will be to cut excess services. We've done that by cutting [employee] cars, meal plans and certain overtime and eliminating duplication of services," he said.

There still is enough to cut to narrow the deficit without passing the burden on to taxpayers, Ciotti believes. If residents elect Ciotti to another term on Nov. 6, they will be able to see if he is right.