Kauai seeks halt
to tax measure

County officials say
a Nov. 2 ballot issue
limits budget powers

LIHUE » Kauai County asked a Circuit Court judge yesterday to declare a tax issue on next Tuesday's ballot illegal and unconstitutional.

While the filing of the petition questions the validity of the ballot issue to be voted on at the election, the county is not seeking an immediate hearing.

The measure, if passed, would amend the County Charter freezing tax bills for owner-occupied homes at 1999 levels with a maximum increase of 2 percent annually.

The measure does not affect taxes on other classes of property such as businesses, rentals or vacation homes.

The plaintiffs in the action are Mayor Bryan Baptiste and the County Council, which have been united and vocal in their opposition.

Two weeks ago the Council invited Baptiste to speak to them about the measure, and local cable television broadcast their criticisms of the proposal.

The initiative petitions were filed by a group calling itself Ohana Kauai. Spokesman Walter Lewis declined to comment because he had not seen the court filing.

The petition claims that both the state Constitution and state law reserve all taxing power for the Legislature and County Councils.

It further claims that because the Kauai County Charter requires the Council to pass a balanced budget, the proposed change would limit the Council's ability to increase revenues.

The county is claiming the alleged legal limitations were only recently discovered by a Honolulu law firm hired as special counsel to advise the county on the ballot measure.

The petitions to place the Charter amendment on the ballot were filed in July with no one questioning its legality.

The county's court petition does not seek to halt the election. County officials urged voters to go ahead and vote their consciences on the measure.

Gary Heu, Baptiste's administrative assistant, said the decision was made to file the petition before the election rather than afterward because the court could rule the county should not have waited to seek an opinion.

"We're basically just raising our hands and saying, 'Here we are!' so we aren't prohibited from bringing up the challenge after the election," Heu said.