Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for being with us this evening. I wish to begin by congratulating Trustees Werther and DaVanzo on their re-election. Welcome back.
Four years ago, we told you of our vision for a new, more open and more fiscally responsible village government. I made a commitment to you then and, along with the village board and staff, dedicated myself to making that commitment a reality.
For the first time, we opened up the process of village government through open meetings, newsletters, a village web site, and televised village meetings and hearings.
For the first time, we held residential and commercial community forums to hear firsthand your concerns and suggestions. We streamlined village government, cut wasteful spending, enacted the village’s first debt management plan, paid down nearly $7 million in debt and, for the first time in a long time, we have a healthy unreserved fund balance.
Through these last four years we have been true to our commitment to you and, through this election, you showed that you have recognized and supported our efforts, a fact for which I am humbled and grateful.
Today, we stand at the doorway of a new century in our village’s history, a unique opportunity to not only reflect on our village’s proud history, but to look forward to the next one hundred years.
As we look forward, I am struck by the endless challenges and opportunities we have before us.
In the short term, we have the completion of the Roslyn Road grade crossing elimination project, the completion of the streetscape improvements along the Jericho Turnpike corridor as well as Station Plaza North, and the continued negotiation of a comprehensive plan to redevelop our children’s recreational facilities. These projects will provide benefits to our entire community and will serve as models for other communities to emulate.
But looking farther, we have an opportunity to adopt a comprehensive master plan to take stock of where we are today and to determine for ourselves where we will be as a village twenty and more years from now. We must use this opportunity to intelligently and appropriately encourage the redevelopment of our downtown, optimizing and revitalizing our tax base, adding tax revenue and offering much needed tax relief for all of us.
County Executive Suozzi, in his congratulatory remarks to me after this election noted that Mineola has tremendous potential to be the best village in Nassau County and offered that he would like to work with us to make it happen. I must say for the record Tom, that Mineola already is the best village in Nassau County, but I thank you for your gracious offer and I look forward to working with you in furtherance of our commitment to making Mineola the best that it can be.
We shall continue to explore means to eliminate tax certioraris as an annual scourge. In doing so we will be freeing up over $1 million dollars annually that can be used for much needed infrastructure improvements throughout our village.
I look forward to working with my fellow board members in crafting solutions to the issues facing our village. We may not always agree, but therein lies the strength of any board – the ability to gather various perspectives and fashion viable solutions. It is okay to disagree, but as elected officials we do not have the option of disagreeing without advocating an alternative.
The key to any board is that each board member actively participates and offers suggestions and alternatives. I again call upon my fellow board members to work as a team and do what is best for Mineola. Our residents deserve nothing less than our honest efforts in furtherance of the task we have sought through elective office and accepted.
To this end, I want to reiterate a point I have made time and time again – that my door is always open to anyone wishing to discuss any issues affecting our village. As always, I invite and encourage everyone to participate in the process, especially our own elected officials.
To those of you who helped me throughout those frigid months campaigning door to door, please accept my deepest appreciation. Your commitment and hard work to the campaign was, and continues to be, an inspiration to me. I will not forget. Thank you.
To my wife, Paula, I can’t thank you enough. Paula kept me centered throughout the campaign. Her patience and support kept me moving forward. Lest I forget, I also wish to thank my three young ladies, my daughters, Kaitlin, Vanessa, and Emma – they are the reason we work so hard today in the hopes of providing them with a better tomorrow. Ladies, thank you.
To the residents of Mineola, I thank you for the honor of re-electing me mayor and allowing me the opportunity to serve you. We will not let you down.
God bless you and God bless Mineola.