HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0118.017 2002-2004 Testimony: August 3, 2004 .
Hawaii County Council Heating r
Lynn Nakkim nL'?<ri!msn.com County cound~~ t~c
Regarding raising taxes on Agricultural Lands of MORE THAN 5 acres.
I am a rancher with a 160 acre cattle and horse farm operation in Hamakua,
near Waimea. I have been raising livestock on this island since 1987, when
I moved my quarter horses over from Maui and Oahu.
It is my intention to make money at this, but in a good year I barely break
even, and that is not counting my 50 hours a week labor. There have been
many bad years since 1991 where I did not break even.
Your intentions to wring more tax money out of me sign and seal the deal.
I will have to sell out and move on.
I am already paying 40% more in taxes on the one rental property I have
here because of your silly and totally unfair new calculations which require
me to pay taxes on a fictitious half acre building site that I do not have an d
cannot sell. I plan to divest myself of the rental property which will be a
serious hardship on the working mother and her son who live there and pay
$625 a month rent for their house right now close to her job in Waimea.
We realize that the county wants more money. But your (the county's )
money management skills are too outrageously foolish right now. Earlier
this year, At the same MOMENT that the council had before it a bill
considering allocating 1% or 2% of land taxes to go for acquiring
recreational open lands, your left hand cut and interesting deal which sold
SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY acres of prime agricultural land that was
already HEAVILLY USED by THOUSANDS OF BIKE RIDERS,
HIKERS< HUNTERS<, and Horseback riders to some developers for about
(no one will tell us the real figure) $1,600,000. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to tell you that asthis land is located 6 miles wfrom where ONE
ACRE sells for $335,000. Where 40 acres sells for $500,000. AND YOU
SOLD 660 acres OUT FROM UNDER US FOR
$1,600,OOOIlIlllllll(1I(!1l1+.
So I am not in favor of giving you people more money to throw around
foolishly while you sell off assets at a tiny fraction of their value. That
recreational land on lower Mud Lane had NO amenities except the nice jeep
Comm. No.
Ref. To:
Ref. Date
road up to it from Kukuihaele which was not being maintained but was 4
wheel driveable (and still is, despite fictional accounts to the contrary).
So if you want to put me and other small ranchers and farmers out of
business by taxing the lifr out of our operation, you are, for the time being
empowered to do so. But I hope that there is enough publicity on this deed
to ensure that we will have a NEW CLEAN SLATE come mid November
this year, and a serious and across the board REGIME CHANGE.
You people seem to spend an awful lot of time inside your offices. Get
ouot and appreciate the greens pace around you and know that the farmers
operating on 15 ,thirty, br 150 acres are struggling right now to keep it
together. And there are many people in the community who will suffer the
consequenc
chopped up and turned into houselots.
You people are out of touch with the aina, and out of touch with the
people, if you think you can do this with impunity.
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