Mayor calls
session on tax hikeThe special Christmas Eve meeting
will look at raising vehicle taxes
to fund police raises
Mayor Jeremy Harris has called the City Council into a rare special session on Christmas Eve to vote on his proposal to pay for police raises by increasing the vehicle weight tax.
The Council, which deferred the matter earlier this month, may be ready to reverse itself and approve the tax increase for more than 600,000 registered vehicles.
"There's a possibility; that's why the mayor is calling us back into session," said Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi, who has been in discussions with the administration.
This is the first time in nearly 10 years that a mayor has called the Council into a special session.
"They're working on something, so I'm hopeful that it's going to be something that we're all comfortable with," said Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz.
Arbitrated raises for police officers will cost $67 million over four years. The city needs to pay for $5.7 million in raises this fiscal year and nearly $13 million next year.
Harris proposed raising the passenger vehicle weight tax to 2 cents a pound, a 0.75-cent increase. Under the proposal, a 4,000-pound car would cost an extra $30 a year. The proposal also calls for the commercial vehicle weight tax to climb to 2.5 cents a pound from 2 cents.
The proposed tax increase is expected to generate $6.5 million in revenue for the current fiscal year and $13 million for next fiscal year, which begins in July.
During its final scheduled meeting of the year on Dec. 3, the Council sent the mayor's proposal to raise the tax back to committee. If the Council does not pass a tax increase this month, the city loses the revenue for this fiscal year.
City officials said the tax increase can take effect only on Jan. 1 of each year. To do so, it must be approved by the end of the prior year.
Kobayashi was among those who support police officer raises but were cool to a tax increase. She and five other Council members -- Dela Cruz, Romy Cachola, Charles Djou, Rod Tam and Nestor Garcia -- voted to send the measure back to the budget committee, delaying a final vote.
Garcia, however, has since changed his position and now supports the tax increase, along with Gary Okino, Barbara Marshall and Mike Gabbard. One more vote is needed to approve the measure.
"I think we need to get it done whatever way possible," Okino said, even if it means convening on Christmas Eve.
But Marshall said, "I'm certainly not going in on Christmas Eve."
Djou said that a special session will not change his mind. "I oppose a massive tax increase, even on Christmas Eve."
