Council advances Industrial and commercial landowners likely would pay more in property taxes while hotel/resort and agricultural owners would pay less under a City Council bill to reduce the number of tax rates to two from eight.
tax rate measure
A study says that certain
landowners would pay moreBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comThe Council Budget Committee yesterday voted unanimously to move the bill out for a final vote of the Council, likely at its Aug. 7 meeting in Kapolei.
The bill calls for the city to have only two rates -- residential and nonresidential.
The single-family, unimproved residential and apartment/condominium properties would be taxed in the residential category. Commercial, industrial, agricultural, conservation and hotel/resort would be taxed under the nonresidential rate.
Councilman Duke Bainum, who introduced the bill, said two rates ensure that certain interest groups are not given special consideration for rates. It also simplifies the process for the public and allows for better accountability.
A study done by the Office of Council Services, the Council's research arm, shows hotel property owners paying an average $455 less annually and agricultural property owners paying about $73 less.
But the study shows industrial, commercial and conservation property owners paying $92, $353 and $117 more, respectively, each year. The numbers assume a single nonresidential tax rate of $9.47 per $1,000 of assessed value on a property.
The study says single-family homeowners would pay an average $24 more each year while those with apartment/condominium and unimproved residential properties would pay $30 and $888 less, respectively. Those numbers are based on a single residential tax rate of $3.74 per $1,000.
Acting Budget Director Chris Diebling said the administration is still studying the proposal.
The city is already in the second year of a three-year plan to bring down the rate for apartment/condominiums to the same level as single-family properties.
The Budget Committee yesterday also approved two bills that would restrict the use of money from the dedicated sewer and solid waste funds to sewer-related expenses only.
The Council has criticized the administration this year for raiding money from both funds to balance the city's operating budget.
Councilman Gary Okino, who supports the bills, said Mayor Jeremy Harris and his administration put the Council in the unenviable position of needing to raid the funds or raise taxes.
Diebling and Bainum, however, said they have reservations about the bills.
The Council can choose not to take the money in any given year, they said, but turning such policies into law would severely limit the city's ability to budget.