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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Information on tax credits is no secret
Question: The city administration, the City Council and the news media failed miserably to aggressively inform homeowners of the city's property tax credit program for those with incomes of $50,000 or less. Many, many seniors who really need such a break never got the word at all or only at the last minute. The mayor and Council can correct this major failure by extending the application deadline and, this time, with a prominent publicity effort in cooperation with the press. Can that be done?
Answer: City administration officials called your assessment "unfair" and extending the deadline is now moot.
An extension would have required three votes before the City Council to amend the ordinance as well as "a massive infusion of personnel and money into the city's Treasury Division," said Mark Matsunaga, spokesman for Mayor Mufi Hannemann.
He defended the city, saying it did publicize the tax credit and the 3,188 applications received before the Oct. 2 deadline attests to that.
He said news releases were sent on March 1, when the tax credit was mentioned in a list of five bills the mayor had signed into law; on May 9, when applications became available; and on Sept. 29, alerting the public to the deadline.
In May, articles were published in community newspapers, neighborhood bulletins, and in Chinese and Japanese language newspapers, Matsunaga said. A description of the tax credit was posted in the March edition of Honolulu News, which is distributed at neighborhood board meetings and posted on the mayor's Web site.
Legal advertisements also were published in the Star-Bulletin and Advertiser on Feb. 4, March 4 and 5, and July 8, he said, while staff of the Treasury Division attended the Senior Fair at the Blaisdell Center in September and neighborhood board meetings to spread the word.
"Could we have done more?" Matsunaga asked. "Sure. Given sufficient resources and time, there's always more to be done to educate and inform the public. In our democracy, individuals also have a responsibility to pay attention and be informed."
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, chairwoman of the Budget Committee, said Council members also passed out information at neighborhood board meetings and workshops.
"We tried as best we could (to get the word out), short of mailing to everyone," she said. But, the tax credit affects only people with incomes of $50,000 or less, "and we don't know who those people are. ... We can't just mass-mail to everyone."
For its part, the Star-Bulletin had articles on Feb. 2, when the Council was considering the measure; on May 11, noting that applications were available; and on Sept. 29, noting the deadline.
Meanwhile, mark your calendar. The Council has a property tax workshop every January. Next January, members will see whether it's possible to raise the tax credit income limit to $60,000 or more without severely affecting the budget, Kobayashi said.
Got a question or complaint? Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered. E-mail to
kokualine@starbulletin.com.
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