HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1067.003 1996-1998
TO: The Hawaii County Council, SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION
25 Aupuni Street, Hilo HI 96720 TO MY LETTERS OF 11/17 & 11120/98
FROM: Henry A. Ross, P.O.Box 99,
Kapaau, HI 96755, Phone 889-5587
RE: Free tax sifts of aanr. $214.000 and $327.000 to PRUDENTIAL TIMBER
by the County TAX REVIEW BOARD
handdelivered 27 November 1998
Dear County Council members,
I sent you a copy of my letter to Finance Director Harry Takahashi, dated 11/23/98 but just in
case it would not get the proper communication number, and for easy reference, it is also
attached as Exhibit-L to this letter.
When I delivered that letter last Monday, 1 discussed it with Mr Takahashi and he then called
the Deputy Finance Director, Mr S. Kalani Schutte in the property tax office, of which he is in
charge, to verify some details and informing him that he would pass it on for Schutte's action
if any.
Mr Takahashi subsequently told me that he was not going to appeal the Tax Review Board
decision in the above case, but would leave it completely to the discretion of Mr Schutte what
to do. As before he also told me that Mr Schulte could make property tax decisions without
his (Takahashi's) approval, from which I concluded, that Mr Schutte is now responsible for
whatever happens to the Prudemtial Timber and eventual other give-aways to the detriment
of the county taxpayers, unless the Council can counteract this.
Anybody, including myself, could of course bring suit against the County in Hilo circuit court,
based on the documentation that I have furnished, but I will NOT do so, mainly because of
my physical condition.
I will consider sending copies of the documentation to the Office of Information Practices,
which was charged with oversight of the Sunshine Law during the last legislative session, but
any action in that regard would as you can well imagine, come after the final due date of an
appeal by the County to State Tax Court, which as said before is 11 December 1998.
As you still have the December 7 meetings of the Council coming up, that would give you an
opportunity to have the executive branch file the appeal, by calling the people concerned
before you to explain their otherwise strange and illegal behavior in this matter.
Yours Truly: f7
XC: Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro
Deputy Finance Director S. Kalani Schulte
Corporation Counsel 64o ,.r& Nu,1_C'
Finance Director Harry A. Takahashi
MIA No..__.-r
act. 1bf -
,-Fed. Date....._NOV .3 ~Iq Ea
To: Mr Harry A. Takahashi,
Director of Finance, County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni Street, Hilo Hawaii, 96720
Re: Illegal property tax concessions to Prudential Timber
23 November 1998
Dear Mr Takahashi,
I am attaching two memo's from me to the County Council, dated 17 & 20 November 1998,
regarding Tax Review Board decisions of this and last year, that illegally allowed lowering
of property tax assesments for a total of $541,000 by violating your Rule 7 and other laws,
apparently on the advice of Corporation Counsel.
You are by law the responsible party as the Charter charges you with auditing all cou^ty
finances and make regular reports to the County Council, which in this case seems to nave
been kept in the dark about the foregoing sizable amount of income due to the County.
It seems to be necessary to point out that Corporation Counsel serves in an advisory capacity
and if the advice is against the law and rules, then the agency is still responsible.
State law determines that the appellant (to the Tax Review Board) and the County may appeal
the board's decisions to the State Tax Court in Honolulu. As the board's decisions were signed
on 13 November, the final date for such appeal this year is December 11, 1998 (1 believe that it
can be filed "ex officio" in Circuit Court in Hilo, on the last day for this year's total amount of
$214,000 re Prudential Timber). It would further appear that you are the agency that must file the
appeal on behalf of the County (maybe with approval of the Mayor).
It may be possible to retrieve the $327,000 of last year by a roll-back procedure or else by a
circuit court action for a declaratory judgment and/or fraud or otherwise, for all of which the
statute has not yet run out. The County owes this to all its taxpayers.
I am asking you to do whatever is possible to retrieve these big amounts, that the Council was
not aware of, and at the same time check if there are not more such worthwhile questionable
decisions of the Tax Review Board, that can still be appealed. The exhibits to my two letters can
be obtained from the County Council or Corporation Counsel.
Thank you for your assistance: /
He ry AR ss; P Box 99,
Kapaau, Hawaii 96755
XC: Mayor Steven Yamashiro
County Council
Corporation Counsel L