2012-COH-A Technical Assistance Report Evaluating Property Tax Policies and Administrative Practices in Hawaii County

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Recommendation 20: The Real Property Tax Division should implement holdout samples or use subsequent sales not part of the appraisal model to provide an independent test of the quality of the values generated by the CAMA system. To the extent such queries are not routine under the current system, the Division should develop routine queries to compare market value changes on selling and non-selling parcels by market area, neighborhood and other relevant strata. The Division should develop a systematic approach to reviewing unusual value or ratio issues incorporating both office review and field review procedures. Recommendation 21: The Division should review current data entry edits and security procedures to ensure that they meet industry standards as outlined in IAAO references and elsewhere. Recommendation 22: The Council should request all counties in the State of Hawaii to approach the State Bureau of Conveyances about amending the Conveyance Tax Certificate or attaching a supplemental declaration that attempts to elicit the information needed to evaluate the usability of each conveyance. 4 Recommendation 23: Until the Conveyance Tax Certificate (CTC) is improved, as recommended in Section 6.1.2 of this report, the Division should routinely send sale confirmation letters to buyers and sellers, especially when there are few transfers in the area or of the type of property in question and when the property that was sold received an exemption or other form of preferential assessment. Recommendation 24: The Division should develop and implement a plan for verifying the accuracy of each property record at least once every six years. Recommendation 25: The Council should require a regular property inspection cycle. Every property should be inspected at least once every six years. 4 See Section 2.2 and Appendix A of Standard on Verification and Adjustment of Sales. xviii