When it comes to knowing what is on the minds of voters this election season, there's not much disagreement between the major parties. Poll after poll taken by both Democrats and Republicans shows that residents are concerned about two things: taxes and immigration.

"You hear it all the time," said Suffolk County Republican leader Harry Withers. "People are leaving Long Island because they cannot afford to pay their property taxes any more."

"When you come down to it, the real issue is school funding," said Suffolk Democratic leader Richard Schaffer. "With county taxes at around $1,000 a year, including for police, even if you cut them ten percent you are not having much of an impact."

That leaves candidates running for town and county office this November with a real dilemma. With school taxes outside of the realm of their jurisdiction, how do they address what is on voters minds in any meaningful way?

For Democrats, that means forming alliances with the schools to cut costs whenever and wherever possible.

"In Babylon we are working with the Lindenhurst and West Babylon schools for shared services," said Robert Stricoff, Babylon's Democratic leader. "Essentially left to ourselves to resolve some of these problems, we are doing what we can to help schools reduce the costs of things like fuel, and while that is not a panacea, at least it's a start."

At the county level, S.C. Exec. Steve Levy has issued a flurry of white papers calling upon school districts to consolidate functions where numbers mean power- and cheaper costs. He's called for school districts to work cooperatively in Suffolk when making investments and major purchases.

In addition, a county commission charged with finding ways to make local school districts work together to reduce costs has completed its work and is finalizing a report to be released within a few weeks.

When it comes to the immigration issue, the candidates running for office make it clear that the federal government, not the Suffolk Count Legislature, has jurisdiction.

"What we have to decide is what we can do about the federal government's inaction on the issue," said Schaffer.

Steve (Levy), has taken a leadership on this at the local level, pressuring the federal government to deal with the problem."

That includes suing for the cost of incarcerating illegal aliens at the Suffolk County Jail, requiring that all companies doing business with the county show proof that their employees are all citizens or are living here legally.

Another initiative Suffolk has undertaken is to work closely with the towns, providing them with funding to crack down on illegal housing. Often, said Schaffer, illegal immigration and illegal housing go hand in hand.

Withers agreed that immigration, while a national issue, has "very dramatic" local implications.

"Should government provide hiring halls? Should we enforce the law about how many people can live in homes? And, what about the cost of education and health care," he asked.

These are all questions we have to address as a result of illegal immigration."

On those issues, Suffolk's Republicans and Democrats agree. Levy, a Democrat, is endorsed by the Republicans this year.

"I am not saying I am 100 percent in agreement with him on everything," said Withers. "But on taxes and immigration, we are on the same side."