Council passes
increase in taxes

Rate hikes are meant to help
generate more revenue to
help balance city finances

The City Council approved several hikes in fees and taxes yesterday to help generate more revenue to balance a proposed $1.36 billion operating budget.

Car registration costs will go up, and so will sewer fees. Even nonprofits and entertainment companies will have to pay more to use the Blaisdell Center and Waikiki Shell, and movie companies to film in city parks.

The only member to vote against the operating budget was Councilman Charles Djou.

"I believe that the problem we have at the city is we are increasing spending at too rapid a rate," he said. "We need to cut spending rather than always reaching for the lever of increasing taxes and fees."

Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said that the budget was a difficult one to put together.

"I think it's a budget that we worked out the details, we worked out our differences with the administration and we found compromise," Kobayashi said.

"It was so much easier to put together a budget when we knew how much things cost."

The Council approved increases to:

>> The vehicle weight tax, which will go up by 50 percent.

>> Sewer fees will go up by 25 percent next fiscal year.

>> Film companies will have to pay at least double the current $10 fee to film in city parks. Large productions will have to pay 30 times more.

But some who testified were not happy with the increases.

Honolulu Symphony officials testified that the increase in the fees at the Blaisdell Center will be "disastrous" to the symphony. They are concerned about a change that would allow city officials to move them to another site if a higher-paying commercial vendor wants to use the concert hall.

"We understand the need for an increase. We haven't had an increase in years, and we understand the city's need but the rate of increase is what we've had a problem with all along," said symphony President Steve Bloom.

City Managing Director Jeff Coelho said that the city will make provisions in the symphony contract so that it will not be displaced by other entertainment acts.

James Manaku of Waianae said sewer fee increases are not fair to residents living along the parched Leeward Coast because much of the water they use does not go into the sewer system.

"We're not saying that we shouldn't be paying our fair share, but I think maybe what we need to do is recognize how much water is going to the sewer system so that we get charged fairly," Manaku said.

Dan Neyer, however, said that the rate hikes are needed because the sewer fees have not been raised in years, and it is time for catch-up.

The Council also approved a $478 million capital improvement budget, also higher than the $451 million CIP budget proposed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Councilman Gary Okino joined Djou in voting against the CIP budget because he believes while the mayor submitted a "no-frills," responsible budget, the Council increased the budget unnecessarily as well as increased the city's debt load.

A roundup of tax and fee hikes The City Council voted to approve these fees and taxes: >> The passenger and commercial vehicle weight tax will go up by a penny each to 3 cents and 3.5 cents per pound, respectively. >> Sewer fees will go up by 25 percent next year to just over $41 a month. >> Major movie production companies will have to pay up to $300 a day to use a city park. The fee was previously $10 per day. >> The waste-water facility charge, the fee to hook up a new home to the city's sewer system, will go up to $4,780 next year. >> Nonprofit groups will pay $788, up from $525, to use the Blaisdell Center or the Waikiki Shell next year.