The winds of change blew through Mineola in 2003. The village government changed as a new mayor was elected. The board of trustees also welcomed two new members. The new administration also got to work on implementing some changes. The Mineola School District had some highs and lows in 2003. On one hand, it celebrated an historic occasion as the new Willis Avenue School opened. However, the school district also saw its budget fail twice.

The year began with the kickoff of the election season. It would prove to be a heated election as three candidates vied for mayor and six candidates from three different parties vied for three trustee positions.

The newly formed "Mineola First" party ran former trustee Maryanne Warnecke for mayor and Dorothy Rudolph and James LaMonica for trustees. The "New Line" party ran Jack Martins for mayor and Larry Werther and Steve Franzini for trustees. The "Village Party" and "Hometown Party" combined forces, running incumbent John P. Colbert for mayor and incumbent Lou Santosus and Larry Speciner for trustees.

Speciner was running for the Hometown Party in place of longtime resident Elizabeth A.J. Conlon, who decided not to run for re-election since she planned a move to Ridge. For Conlon, a lifelong Mineola resident, the move was an emotional one. The former trustee truly took in all Mineola had to offer and gave much back to the community in return, both in all the activities she was involved in and in her initiatives as a trustee.

Much of the campaign centered around the village finances as Colbert found himself having to defend the idea that the village was in poor fiscal health. The village's $33 million debt was ultimately not ignored by residents, despite the mayor's claim that the debt was being addressed through the village budgets.

On Election Day in March, voters went to the polls and elected a new mayor. Martins was elected, beating out Colbert, who held the mayor's position since 1994, and Warnecke. In addition, Santosus was re-elected and Werther was elected for the first time. Werther would later be appointed deputy mayor. After Mayor Martins was sworn in, his first order of business was appointing Franzini, his running mate, to fill the trustee seat he vacated by becoming mayor.

The new administration did not have much time to enjoy its victory. In April, the board began holding budget meetings, during which ways to address the village's debt were discussed. The proposed budget amounted to a 13.8 percent tax increase and was passed by Mayor Martins and trustees Werther and Franzini. Trustees Santosus and Linda Fairgrieve voted against the budget since they felt the tax increase was too high.

However, the mayor believed the proposed 2003-2004 budget would put the village on the road to fiscal recovery by ceasing the practice of borrowing, converting all of the short-term debt into long-term debt to take advantage of the historically low interest rates, and transferring funding for the sewer department out of the Water Fund and into the General Fund thereby making the Water Fund solvent.

In order to transfer all of the short-term debt into long-term debt, the village's finances were subject to a review by Moody's, which downgraded the village's finances from A2 to A3. However, Moody's believed the village administration took some correct steps in ensuring future fiscal health such as adopting a debt management plan.

At the end of 2003, it was revealed that the village closed the 2002-2003 fiscal year with a negative fund balance of over $500,000, painting a bleak picture of the village's current financial situation.

When the Martins administration wasn't talking village finances, it was discussing village laws and future village projects that could have a major impact on the community.

One such project was the proposed intermodal center, a four story parking garage to be built on the south side of the LIRR tracks between the train station and the KeySpan building on Old Country Road.

The concern was that since the MTA, which would be taking over the Keyspan building, was a quasi-governmental entity, the village would lose the building off the tax rolls.

Understanding that there was nothing, however, the village board could do about preventing the project from moving forward, the board voted to be a partner in the project. The thinking was that by the village acting as an active participant in the process, it would be in a better position to protect the interests of the residents and businesses by possibly negotiating some benefits for the village from the project.

Mayor Martins made waves within the county circle after he began discussing plans to explore the possibility of the village implementing its own police department. The mayor had expressed concern over the amount of police coverage Mineola received from the 3rd Precinct, which amounted to three and a half patrol cars.

The mayor and the village board also amended some of its laws and codes. For example, the Architectural Review Law, which proved to be cumbersome for residents who wanted to make improvements on their homes, was made less stringent while also maintaining the spirit of the law.

The village board also passed a rental registration law, which required landlords of apartment buildings and buildings with apartments over stores to register their rental dwellings with the village. The purpose of the law was to ensure that these dwellings are safe and not overcrowded.

The most significant event in the village in 2003 was the September 11 ceremony held in Memorial Park. The ceremony, organized by Mayor Martins, the village board of trustees, and the village staff, drew such dignitaries as Governor George Pataki, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, New York State Senator Michael Balboni and Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

Of course, the Mineola Mustang Run proved once again to be a grand event. The run, organized by members of the Mustang Run Committee, led by Trustee Fairgrieve, and volunteers, raised a record $33,000 to be given to local organizations.

It was also a significant year for the Mineola School District. Knowing that passing the budget might be difficult, the district considered eliminating its pre-kindergarten program. However, after pre-kindergarten parents packed a board of education meeting, it was decided the program should remain in the budget.

The passing of the budget did prove to be difficult. Although the district boasted it had one of the lowest budget-to-budget increases in the county, the 2003-2004 school budget failed twice, causing the board of education to adopt a contingency budget. The truth of the matter is there wasn't much difference between the contingency budget and the budget that was put before voters.

The school district also said goodbye to one of its board of education members. Gia Lynne Hall was unsuccessful in her re-election bid and left the board of education after nine years of volunteer service. The district also said goodbye to Dr. Ari Anolic, director of technology and Communications, who retired after serving the Mineola School District in a variety of roles for over 20 years.

The school district also employed a security staff to enforce the rules that were set with regard to the use of the schools' grounds and fields. The rules were implemented as a way of preventing inappropriate activities from taking place on school grounds and regulating use of the fields to prevent possible damage to the fields. The Village of Mineola also hired a security staff to patrol its parks and fields.

But the most significant event for the Mineola School District was the opening of the new Willis Avenue School for kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students. A bond that was passed in 2000 included the tearing down of the old school and the construction of a new one. The district made good on its promise to have the building opened by September.

In addition to a new learning facility, the district, for the first time, implemented a full-day kindergarten program.

Things are sure to once again be interesting in the village in 2004.