Kauai faces 13.6% more
property taxes
LIHUE » Kauai property owners face an average of 13.6 percent more in property taxes in fiscal 2005.
After tax cuts totaling about $5 million, property owners would be required to pay just under $54 million in the coming year, up from $47.5 million in the current fiscal year that ends June 30.
The Kauai County Council is set to pass the $103 million fiscal 2005 budget Monday -- which is up 5.4 percent from this year's $97.7 million -- and Mayor Bryan Baptiste said yesterday he is prepared to sign it.
Properly tax revenues make up slightly more that half of the money the county uses to finance the county's general fund operating expenses.
The result is that the average Kauai property tax payer will see an 13.6 percent tax increase in the coming year instead of a 24.2 percent increase had tax cuts not been passed.
Two tax-relief measures already were in place and are set to be renewed:
» The "circuit breaker," which limits tax increases to no more than 3 percent of a household's taxable income.For the second year, the Council has refused to give Baptiste the three community response specialists he requested to run his Ka Leo program of islandwide community forums and volunteer projects. The program has been the cornerstone of Baptiste's move to make government "user-friendly."» A 6 percent tax break for homes that have been granted "homestead status," which includes almost all owner-occupied homes on Kauai.
Other tax reductions are:
» Baptiste recommended and won a reduction of 20 cents per $1,000 valuation in the property tax rates on all classes of property.
» The Council is granting a 15-cent rate reduction on taxes on land (but not on buildings, which are taxed separately).
This year, the Council gave him money for only two. The program has been within the County Economic Development Office, and Baptiste cut spending on other projects to give himself the third position.
For the coming year, the program is being shifted to the Mayor's Office, and the Council again refused to fund a third position. Baptiste said he will again trim other areas to fund the third specialist.
The Council agreed to give Baptiste five new positions for narcotics undercover officers in the Kauai Police Department.
And it is giving Baptiste the money to hire four additional part-time county lifeguards and convert two existing part-time lifeguard positions to full time.