Property tax system is unfair to homeowners

I'm outraged by the recent sharp increases in property taxes. During the last two years, assessed values have increased by as much as 40 percent, leading to property tax increases as much as 34 percent. This includes a leasehold parcel that is declining in market value!

Our property taxes are calculated using two variables: The first is the tax rate, established each year by the City Council; the second variable is the net assessed value, determined by the Real Property Tax Assessment Division. Taxes are calculated by applying the tax rate to the net assessed value.

What guides the tax assessor in arriving at the assessed value? What checks and balances operate in that system?

California once used the same system. But in the '70s skyrocketing assessed values were taxing fixed-income retirees out of their homes. Californians united behind the famous Proposition 13 to get the system under control. Prop 13 codified both the tax rate and the method of determining the assessed value. Finally, California citizens knew how much their taxes were going to be from year to year. And purchasers of homes knew what their new taxes would be.

Isn't it time to explore a similar system for Hawaii?

Robert R. Kessler
Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Waikiki

It's time to think big about rapid transit

I hope our new administration will:

>> Think rapid transit.
>> Think rail rapid transit.
>> Think elevated rail rapid transit.

Eventually, why not now?

Richard W. Marshall
Wahiawa

BRT need not require digging trenches

Max H. Watson's Jan. 12 letter denouncing Honolulu's proposed Bus Rapid Transit project repeated misinformation used by BRT opponents to attack the plan.

Contrary to his assertion that "underground trenches" must be dug into city streets to power BRT vehicles, a technology under consideration known as hybrid propulsion would require no such trenching.

Hybrid propulsion uses an on-board diesel or propane engine to drive a generator that produces electricity for motors in the vehicle's wheel assemblies. These vehicles are much cleaner than conventional buses and are far more flexible than those powered by an underground electrified cable that requires trenching.

The city recently released its final Environmental Impact Statement on BRT with in-depth descriptions of the options under review. Anyone with a sincere desire to understand BRT should read it.

Doug Carlson

Mass transit system ought to go high-tech

We need to build a high-tech magnetic levitation monorail from the airport to Waikiki with a loop to the convention center. The new "Wiki-Wiki Magrail" would get more than half the cars and buses off the road, leaving plenty space for local transit. The key to the transit problem is not to build more roads for more cars, but to have fewer cars, buses and taxis.

The oil, car rental and livery drivers will complain, but the tail has been wagging the dog too long, and this is a solution and an opportunity. The image enhancement the Wiki-Wiki Magrail would bring is worth billions. It also would heal the aina and save lives.

Tourists and commuters alike could have scenic rides at high speed on a cushion of air, propelled by basically unlimited free magnetic energy, an underappreciated gift of tutu Pele.

It will cost billions but that means jobs, more conventions and clean air as we move to the future. Funding can come from a combination of federal, state, and private funding, supplemented with a unique corporate sponsorship strategy.

I am certain that we can negotiate getting a magrail for below sticker price in a joint venture with Japanese industry/government. The Japanese would love to launch their showcase train in the tourist mecca of the world, where everyone in the world would admire it.

Kimo Kekahuna
Kahikinui, Maui

Islanders should protest gay-bashers

The gay-bashers from Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas have come here with a message of hate. There are plenty of loonies around who will interpret that message as giving them license to commit acts of violence and murder on gays.

These WBC people are guilty of encouraging, aiding and abetting crimes of violence. They are just as much criminals as those who swing the bat or pull the trigger and should be treated as such.

The people of this state should be out there beside them, letting them know loud and clear that they and their message are not welcome here. Kindness will only make them think that they are right and acceptable. Just as there are anti-KKK marchers, there should be anti gay-basher protests.

Gordon Banner

Death penalty doesn't deter crime

Sen. Willie Espero's claim that the death penalty for child molesters and killers would be a deterrent is not borne out by the facts ("Some crimes deserve the death penalty," Star-Bulletin, Jan 9).

The national murder rate bares no relationship to the number of executions carried out since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1977.

Let's not sugarcoat the reason for passing such a bill. The only real benefit of the death penalty is retribution. Passing this bill would have no effect on the murder rate of children.

Espero's claim that 76 percent of his constituents approve of this bill is dubious, at best. Espero has never polled his entire constituency on anything. His polls consist of an informal e-mail sent to about 200 friends and supporters out of a district of 42,000 residents.

Espero has not tried to get support for this bill from his colleagues, confirming that this is nothing more than a bad publicity stunt.

With the significant basic problems of crime, education and transportation that his district faces on a daily basis, Espero should be applying himself to those issues.

Pam Smith
Member Ewa Neighborhood Board

---

How to write us The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (150 to 200 words). The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number. Letter form: Online form, click here E-mail: letters@starbulletin.com Fax: (808) 529-4750 Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813