Southampton - Republicans Jim Malone and Chris Nuzzi are running for Southampton Town Board on the traditional conservative platform of small government and pro-business policies at a time when the town is battling both record deficits and worsening unemployment.

GOP candidates Malone and Nuzzi at their campaign headquarters in Hampton Bays.

"The number one job is to get the facts in order," Councilman Nuzzi said during an interview with both candidates at GOP headquarters in Hampton Bays. "Our job is not to look back and point fingers," he clarified, blaming the town's situation on the staggering economy as much as the failed accounting practices of the past. The one-two punch of deficits with obligations on the general fund and a falling off of revenues, namely those from mortgage taxes, has put Southampton in a precarious position, however both candidates asserted that solidifying the actual figures on the deficits and reinventing government was priority one.

In general, "We have to come up with ways to restrain government," Nuzzi explained, while improving efficiencies to "better serve our citizens."

"The main roll of government is public safety, there is no higher priority," Malone asserted, "And in connection with that is to do those things that individuals can't do for themselves," such as roadway improvements and waste management, "But we should be smart about the way we manage that."

Efficiency was a recurring topic throughout the interview. "The thrust of it is optimizing the services we provide," Malone, who has worked as the senior deputy Suffolk County Clerk and chief fiscal director since early 2008, stated. In his role at the county, Malone manages a workforce of just over 100 employees, down from more than 150 when he first arrived. "Before I got there there were 10 accounting people, now we're down to four," he said, "We bring in one or two employees from other departments at the end of the month" when the books have to be closed and the department is at its busiest. Cross-training employees to pick up the slack wherever it is needed rather than maintaining a bloated workforce has led to greater efficiency without sacrificing service, according to Malone.

The Clerk's office, which takes in all revenues and fees coming into the county, has gone from a $500,000 budget in 2007 down to a $200,000, however "the clerk has managed to turn over $1.5 million because we're reinventing government," Malone asserted. With their budget restricted, "We should be off by 60 percent, but we're not, we're up," he stated, adding that the return on interest-bearing accounts is up 606 percent since he joined the clerk's office.

Councilman Nuzzi, running for his second term on the Town Board, recently sponsored legislation to extend the hiring freeze through 2010.

In Southampton, "We're going to have to cut somewhere," Nuzzi said, "But we should look to reorganize, not slash the important services that local government is responsible for."

"It's about trimming the brass fat," Malone offered, suggesting that the board should begin by eliminating highly paid management positions before relieving lower-level employees, "We've got a heavy layer of management."

"We need a reorganization of upper management in town hall," Nuzzi agreed, "The way some of the departments are functioning, I don't believe they are as efficient as they can be or should be." Specifically, Nuzzi is looking to shake up the Department of Public Works by separating out the Highway Department. Public Works, which is overseen by the elected Superintendent of Highways, and is in charge of waste management, engineering, street lighting and drainage projects throughout the town, as well as the regular duties of a Highway Department. "It's just not being managed efficiently, I don't see those functions being directly related to the job of the highways superintendent," Nuzzi explained, which he thinks should be restricted to the maintenance of town roadways and not the implementation of capital projects. If re-elected, Nuzzi would like to reorganize the departments and consolidate positions as a means of increasing efficiency.

Nuzzi hopes the "silver lining" to the bad economy will be that government gets back to "what our essential needs are and what they aren't."

"Looking forward, it's got to be about ideas about how to get us through a down economy," Nuzzi said, "Furloughs, lag payroll, those are things we should look at over the next year, two years."

With layoffs looming in town hall (48 positions would be eliminated if the board were to pass the supervisor's tentative budget today), Nuzzi admitted that the overall size of the town's workforce will have to be reduced. "There are some that are leaving naturally through attrition. If we lose 30 to 40 individuals, that's a significant amount of money," he stated, expecting that at least 30 employees will leave before the end of the year. "You're saving money, people are leaving on their own and you're creating efficiencies within the departments," Nuzzi explained, as attrition combined with a hiring freeze forces efficiency on the departments, "They've got to do more with less."

"The businessman can't just say, 'We'll do $5,000 more in sales today because we need a new roof.' The government can just raise taxes," said Malone, "Raising taxes has got to be a last resort, not a first option. A budget, simply defined, is a platform of priorities," he continued, "Our priorities are not to add to the exploding unemployment rate of 10 percent and not to raise taxes."

"There's the town and its finances and there's the headlining issue of the economy," Nuzzi offered as perspective, "That's where the town hall needs to remind itself that it's the partner of local business."

Town Hall can help attract business development through deregulation, according to the Republican candidates, which Nuzzi would begin at the planning and zoning process. "I've offered some ideas on how to restructure that process," he explained, "Encourage businesses, if there's some new use that a building could be used for, get them out of that year-long site-plan process. If they're employing local people, we should be welcoming them."

Malone, a first-time candidate for office, spent 10 years in the U.S. Treasury Markets before getting his law degree and working in the Suffolk County District Attorney's office and as a public defender.

Speeding up the permitting process, encouraging "friendly businesses" like the movie industry and green jobs and recent legislation allowing outdoor dining "aren't dramatic and sweeping," according to Nuzzi, "but they're incrementally helping a little bit. We've seen regulation after regulation muddy up the water."

Malone agreed that the process was too slow and cumbersome. "People with the means to make investments don't have patience," he said, "My sense is maybe we can discuss some tax incentives for those kind of investments. Even if we get no taxes, we get jobs." Besides restructuring the town's finances, jobs was a singularly important issue for Malone. "If we keep pushing out young people, who's going to answer the fire whistle at 3 o'clock in the morning?" he posed.

Along with creating jobs, affordable housing is a key necessity for Malone. "We have to have meaningful legislation that can take a strong stride toward workforce housing," he asserted, and not just for laborers, "We must include young professionals, there's just as much a need as low income." Through legislation, both Malone and Nuzzi hope to encourage more private ventures into affordable housing, such as the two units near completion in Sagaponack and the recent approval for a complex on Sandy Hollow Road. "Private entities can get it done faster and cheaper," Nuzzi contended.

Despite differences with Supervisor Linda Kabot, a fellow Republican nominee, both candidates are committed to raising the level of discourse. "We are running as a team," Malone said, "There are areas where the supervisor and I disagree, but they're healthy disagreements, not philosophical differences."

"There are going to be those issues that we don't agree on, and that's okay, residents expect that civil discourse," Nuzzi concurred.

"I think that's healthy," Malone reiterated.

"It's the democratic process," Nuzzi continued. "The tone [among the town board] could be better," he admitted, "I often find myself at odds with my colleagues, but we always debate the issues respectfully. People are passionate about what they believe, but we need to remember that the debate should be civilized."