STERLING - Assemblyman Robert Oaks believes the only way to accurately represent his constituency is to meet citizens face to face.

"I try and do it as much as I can," said Oaks, who holds a series of town meetings at least once a year. "My goal is to be in the communities and gauge opinions."

Oaks, R-Macedon, spent his Saturday morning and afternoon speaking with residents in Minetto, Oswego, Hannibal and Sterling. The discussions ranged from police in small rural communities to the state's growing Medicaid burden.

In Sterling, 11 residents made the trip to the town hall to listen and speak to Oaks. Fair Haven Mayor William McVea said he'd like to explore the availability of state funding to help pay for a police officer for his town.

"From what I know," McVea said, "because of funding, there are only two sheriff deputies on at night in Cayuga County, one for the area north of Auburn and one for the area south. So there is definitely a lack of police coverage here. I know Sterling also wants to be part of something like that, so hopefully we can secure some grants for it."

Oaks said there are some possibilities he can approach for this issue. "It's a lot easier to create this type of service rather than getting rid of it. We'll need a long-range plan, though."

Don Richardson, president of the Sterling Historic Society, came to the meeting to publicly thank Oaks for securing a $5,000 grant for the restoration of the Sterling Mill, one of two sites in northern Cayuga County on the National Historic Register.

"This helped us immensely in the stabilizing process we've been conducting," said Richardson, who also brought along 92-year-old Raymond Waldron, a former Sterling resident who donated $5,000 of his own money to the restoration.

Oaks jotted down notes every time a resident raised an issue of concern, like a proposed early muzzle loading hunting season in October, a change in voting machines or the topic of Medicaid.

Oaks gave a light lesson on New York's proposed 2005-2006 budget, going over charts that showed where the state gets its money and where it goes. Medicaid takes up $35 billion of the total $105.5 billion in funds the state doles out in a year.

"There is talk about swapping Medicaid with 1 percent of all counties' sales tax," Oaks said. "Counties wouldn't have to pay for Medicaid in exchange for giving up some of the sales tax revenue. It would save Cayuga County about $1 million."

Oaks also highlighted that the most effective way of cutting into the $4.2 billion gap in the budget will be to put spending restraints in place. He said it's often difficult for the Legislature to correctly predict the state's anticipated income and spending figures.

Oaks sent out about 30,000 constituent surveys earlier this year to help him in his assessment of the public's views. While he only received 2,000 back, he was encouraged by the results.

Ninety-seven percent of those who responded support legislation to protect citizens from identity theft; 85-percent believe the state should spend additional money to clean and protect fresh water; and 85 percent support creating a two-year forward funding provision for education so districts can better prepare their budget.

"The survey is one of my initiatives that helps me judge the thoughts of our residents," Oaks said.

Staff writer Benning W. De La Mater can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or ben.delamater@lee.net