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;Mtvos e4w' <br /> William P. Kenoi Nancy E. Crawford <br /> �:� �,la;� ' <br /> p�,,�, V," Director <br /> Mayor <br /> R 'I/� ti <br /> Deanna S. Sako <br /> .;7�`` Deputy Director <br /> County of Hawaii <br /> Finance Department <br /> 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2103 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 <br /> (808)961-8234 • Fax(808)961-8569 <br /> April 2, 2013 <br /> J. Yoshimoto Council Chair and <br /> Members of the Hawaii County Council <br /> Hawai'i County Council <br /> 25 Aupuni Street <br /> Hilo, Hawaii 96720 <br /> Re: Real Property Tax Work Group <br /> On July 31, 2012 the County Council formed an Ad-Hoc Committee to review and <br /> prioritize recommendations in a report from consultants contracted by the International <br /> Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). That committee, consisting of Pete Hoffmann <br /> and Brittany Smart submitted their final report to the Council on November 7, 2012. <br /> The Ad-Hoc Committee supported recommendations in the report that a "Stakeholder <br /> Committee" be formed to continue work on a number of the recommendations, including <br /> review of the existing tax code to provide recommendations for improvements. <br /> At the time of the IAAO review and subsequently the Department of Finance, Real <br /> Property Tax Division (RPT) has continued to work on a number of areas covered by the <br /> report. In addition to addressing a number of operational issues, the Division has initiated <br /> information gathering for review of the County's agricultural property tax programs. <br /> We have identified several members of the public who are interested and available to <br /> participate as members of a new work group. Gary Takamura retired from the County in <br /> 2010 after many years as the Budget Administrator. He was a valuable resource in the <br /> last RPT work group (2001-03) as a thoughtful, creative person who motivated us to <br /> consider many perspectives. Stewart Hussey is a real estate appraiser. He has also <br /> been very active in business and service groups, as well as the Hilo Downtown <br /> Improvement Association. David Turner resides in rural Hamakua and was previously a <br /> real estate broker. He was also an effective participant in Pete Hoffmann's recent Ad-Hoc <br /> committee. <br /> Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer <br />