[ OUR OPINION ]
IT IS of little consolation to city taxpayers that like Honolulu 72 percent of municipal governments across the nation are confronting budget shortages that pit loss of services against tax hikes. As bitter as the pill may be, the City Council may have to swallow Mayor Harris' call to raise the rates for real property taxes. Modest increases
in city taxes, fees
may be necessary
THE ISSUE Mayor Harris proposes to raise real property tax rates to pay for city services.
Before doing so, however, a close examination of spending proposals and cost benefits is necessary. Moreover, the Council must weigh carefully whether incurring more debt through revenue bonds is prudent for the city's future. Although spreading the cost of improvements through the life of a project may be sound fiscal policy, increasing debt loads must be followed by increasing revenues or taxpayers will sag under the burden. And it is unlikely revenue will grow in the nation's current economic climate.
Taxpayers would be more assured that their money is being well spent if the administration and the Council put in place a city auditor that voters approved last year. An auditor's assessment of efficiency in city operations is essential as budget shortfalls loom. Further, city officials should push state lawmakers and the Lingle administration to seek reforms in public employment or concession from public worker unions to lower costs.
The mayor is proposing a 2.7 percent increase in the tax rate for single-family homes while apartment and condominium owners will see a decrease of 4.6 percent. Harris, in a meeting with the Star-Bulletin editorial board last week, said applying one residential rate of $3.75 per $1,000 in valuation equalized the tax burden. A $10.63 per $1,000 valuation rate also levels the load for nonresidential property.
The Council should approve proposed fee increases that pass on unsubsidized costs for services, such as spaying and neutering animals. Members should also consider assessing the true costs of abandoned vehicle removal and water and sewer hook-ups for new home construction since these expenses should be paid by those who directly benefit. In fairness, the Council should review motor vehicle assessments, which are now based on weight rather than value. The current formula levies more on an old pick-up than a new luxury sedan.
The percentage of income Honolulu residents pay in property taxes ranks among the lowest in the nation, but city revenues do not pay for public schools as they do elsewhere. An increase in the tax coupled with last year's higher valuations will pinch local pocketbooks. Nonetheless, a modest raise may be required.
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THE shooting death of Honolulu police Officer Glen Gaspar has renewed calls for a "three strikes" law, similar to California's law, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hawaii already has laws providing for longer jail terms for repeat offenders. It does not need to strip judges of discretion and require ridiculously long sentences for property crimes under the premise that the offenders will turn to violence. 3-strikes laws create
absurdly long terms
THE ISSUE A state legislator wants a panel to study whether repeat offenders in Hawaii should automatically draw long prison sentences.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa has suggested that a panel of citizens, law-enforcement officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys look into a three-strikes-and-you're-out bill to be considered by next year's Legislature. Such a law might have kept Shane Mark, 28, charged with Gaspar's murder, off the streets for many years.
Mark had four prior felony convictions, ranging from auto theft to assaulting a police officer. He was released from prison four months ago after serving five years. Under a three-strikes law, Mark could automatically have been sent to prison for 30 years, without parole, for burglary and car theft, his latest convictions.
Under a three-strikes law, a 30-year sentence would cost taxpayers $35,000 a year, or more than $1 million. California now foots such bills for more than 7,000 people serving sentences of at least 25 years, including more than 300 whose third strike was for petty theft. The Supreme Court upheld the California sentences of 25 years for one man for stealing three golf clubs and 50 years for another for stealing children's videotapes from a Kmart store.
The court was hardly endorsing the California law, finding only that the sentences were not so grossly disproportionate as to violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who voted with the majority, wrote that any criticism of the law "is appropriately directed at the Legislature."
Hawaii's repeat-offender statute allows a judge to send a criminal with prior convictions to jail for a full term without the possibility of parole. If the third offense is murder, the person is required to spend at least 30 years in prison. The Legislature might consider giving judges more discretion in imposing long sentences, but not less.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
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