2024-04-14 PL-CCI-2024-000003 Bill 121 Kristina Anderson Testimony

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Honorable Leeward Commissioners: April 14, 2024 Thank you for taking my testimony on Bill 121. 1 am ADAMANTLY OPPOSED. I am a 31-year resident of South Kona Hawaii. I am a career advertising writing professional and I also fill in with substitute teaching, at all levels K-12. I have owned my own home since 2004. During the aftermath of my divorce around 2009, my ex husband decided not to help out with expenses even though one of his children still lived here. I was left floundering, lost clients during the downturn and fell into foreclosure. I was able to modify the terms of my mortgage a year and a half later but with one income and two children to support (with no assistance from their father), times were tough and I was down to my last $600. That's when I discovered Airbnb. This was a way to hang on, help me get more stable financially and pay expenses. It was not a lot of money, especially at first, but the point is, hosted short-term renting in my principal residence saved me. My place isn't really suitable for long term renters and even if it were, the prospect of squatters scares me. Also, I want to keep my studio available for when my now grown kids or family visit from the mainland. I pay all my taxes and am fully compliant with all safety standards. I have been a five-star Superhost for many years. My guests (no more than two) are usually quiet sightseers here briefly to see the island we all get to enjoy. However I have also hosted many professionals including an entomologist hired by the county to consult and set mosquito traps in Milolii during the dengue outbreak; teams of local archaeologists who were surveying the lava flows; visiting professors attending conferences; a team of concrete workers flown in from off island and hired by the county to make repairs during the pandemic; and a fish biologist who booked my place specifically to assess fish health at our local reefs. Plus many others like teachers and healthcare professionals who needed a short term situation while they got settled here. But I , as have many others, have just received a very large property tax rollback. My homeowner exemption rate was denied, my taxes went from the homeowner rate of 6.10 per 1 K to 11.15, which is the same rate as paid by someone owning and short term renting unhosted property at Mauna Lani Resort or Kukio. My tax rollback was $5300, due immediately, and my taxes for this year quintupled from my previous rate. I did not even make enough during the high season to pay for half this hit. I am going to have to close my hosted short term rental on June 30. There is a 6 month lag so I pay the higher rate while being unable to rent. Nice! But I will also be delighted never to write another check to HCTAT or TAT. This is something I cannot absorb, so I'm quitting to get my homeowner rate back, even though the reassessed value won't roll back. But even if I had decided to continue, the features of Bill 121 are enough to discourage me and get me to quit. They are onerous, expensive, complicated and COMPLETELY unnecessary. Hosted rentals are moms and pops who rent out a small portion of their homes to quiet visitors. We live here and make certain people don't party and disrupt. We are members of the community who live and work here, pay taxes and contribute.