It's the time of year again when the Village of Mineola mayor and board of trustees together with department heads begin to formulate a budget for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, which begins on June 1, 2004 and ends on May 31, 2005.

On Thursday, Mayor Jack M. Martins, trustees Lou Santosus and Linda Fairgrieve and trustee-elect Paul Cusato met with some of the department heads to review some sections of the budget. Deputy Mayor Larry Werther is recovering from flu-like symptoms.

The tentative budget, which is being discussed, calls for $15,879,295 in expenditures. It is expected that $10,806,837 will be raised by taxes. The tentative budget calls for a tax increase thus far of 4.1 percent from the 2003-2004 fiscal year budget.

Although residents are never happy to hear about a tax increase, there have been some factors that are out of the mayor's and board's control that have led to the increase.

Some of the factors that led to the increase include an increase in solid waste disposal fees, which accounts for an increase of $250,000 in the budget; an increase in health insurance costs, which accounts for an increase of $150,000; an increase in salaries and wages, which accounts for an increase of $200,000, and an increase in workman's compensation, which accounts for an increase of $50,000.

The increases would have accounted for an 8.5 percent tax increase. However, there were measures taken to increase revenues and cut spending to cut the increase down to 4.1 percent.

Still, some residents who had attended the budget discussion expressed some disappointment that there was a tax increase. One resident said he expected there to be no tax increase.

Mayor Martins said he would welcome any ideas from the board on how to increase revenues and is waiting to see if there is any input. The mayor believes the village cannot cut any more from the budget without jeopardizing the services the village provides to residents.

There are some items for the board to consider that would raise revenues in order to cover increased costs. The cost for plumbing licenses have been the same since the 1960s at $25 for every two years. The board will consider increasing that fee to $100 for every two years. This is expected to offset the off year for electrical permits, which are also renewable every two years.

The village's department of public works has been taking down pay phones in the village since it was found that there were no permits for pay phones. The village board will also consider charging a $1,000 fee per pay phone for any company wishing to place one in the village.

The village currently charges $100 per year for a taxi owner's license. The mayor will be recommending to the board that that fee be increased to $1,000 per year to cover the cost of processing licenses.

The board will also be considering an increase in building permit fees. Since it now costs more for the building department to process applications, the fee may be increased from 1 percent to 1 1/2 percent. If a resident, therefore, puts an extension on his or her house for $100,000, rather than pay a fee of $1,000, they will pay a $1,500 fee.

What could impact village taxes further, however, is which way the state will go concerning the mandated contribution to the New York State Retirement System for municipal employees.

Currently, the village pays 4.5 percent of its payroll toward pension costs. However, those costs are expected to go up. There is a state plan that would increase the village's contribution to the state's retirement system by 1.3 percent so that the village would contribute 5.8 percent of its payroll. Another plan would increase the contribution by 3.8 percent so the village would contribute 8.3 percent of its payroll. The village's payroll is approximately $5.5 million. The tentative budget provides for the village's current contribution of 4.5 percent.

The mayor and the village board may need to come up with additional ways to raise revenues in order to account for the expected increase in the retirement contribution. The mayor is hoping to know by April 30, when the village has to pass its budget, which plan the state will implement. If there is no answer by then, the budget will incorporate the 3.8 percent increase in pension costs as a way to prepare for the worst.

The good news is that Mayor Martins expects the village to end its 2003-2004 budget year on May 31 with what he called the first legitimate budget surplus since 1998-1999. The mayor estimates that the village should have a $350,000 surplus, which includes approximately $154,000 for the sale of land to the MTA, which was listed as a revenue in the 2002-2003 budget, but was not received until recently.

Mayor Martins points out that the 2003-2004 budget puts an end to years of deficits and years of borrowing money. The mayor said he wants to go an entire year without borrowing any money.

Paying off the debt the village has accumulated has taken its toll on taxes. Village taxpayers pay about $10.5 million in taxes of which $2.6 million goes to debt service.