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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1985-102 1984-1988COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII Bill No. s9 ORDINANCE NO. 85 102 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 12, SECTION 19-97 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO ADDITIONAL BOARDS OF REVIEW. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to provide for the creation of additional boards of review. The City and County of Honolulu presently needs an additional board of review to deal with its large number of appeals. Although uniformity amongst the counties is not required for the creation of an additional board for Honolulu, the Council believes that it should adopt enabling legislation in the event there is a need for an additional board of review in Hawaii County. SECTION 2. Chapter 19, Article 12, Section 19-97, Hawaii County Code, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 19-97. Board of review; duties, powers, procedure before. (a) The board of review for the County shall hear all disputes between the director and any taxpayer in all cases in which appeals have been duly taken and the fact that a notice of appeal has been duly filed by a taxpayer shall be conclusive evidence of the existence of a dispute; provided that this provision shall not be construed to permit a taxpayer to dispute an assessment to the extent that it is in accordance with his return unless he shows lack of uniformity or inequality as set forth in section 19-93. (b) A second or more boards of review may be created when in the opinion of the director, the volume of the work of the existing board (or boards) creates undue Bela in the com letion of the oar s work or undue hardship upon the members of the existing board (or boards). The provisions of this chapter shall be fully applicable to each board and each board shall function independentl from every other board of review created under this chapter. The boards of review may provide by rules and regulations for the segregation of the real property tax appeals to be heard by each of the boards. [(b)] (c) The board shall hold public meetings at some central location in the County commencing not later than April 9 of each year and shall hear, as speedily as possible, all appeals presented for each year. Ttie board shall have the power and authority to decide all questions of fact and all questions of law, excepting questions involving the Constitution or laws of the United States, necessary to the determination of the objections raised by the taxpayer or the County in the notice of appeal; provided, that the board shall not have power to determine or declare an assessment illegal or void. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, each board shall have power to allow or disallow exemptions pursuant to law whether or not previously allowed or disallowed by the director and to increase or lower any assessment. [(c)] (d) The board shall base its decision on the evidence before it, and, as provided in section 19-19, the assessment made by the director shall be deemed prima facie correct. Assessments for the same year upon other similar property situated in the County shall be received in evidence upon the hearing. In increasing or lowering any real property assessment, the board shall be governed by this chapter. The board shall file with the director its decision in writing on each appeal decided by it, and a certified copy thereof shall be furnished by the director forthwith to the taxpayer concerned by delivery thereof to him, or by mailing the copy addressed to his last known place of residence or business. [(d)] (e) Upon completion of its review of the property tax appeals for the current year, the board shall compile and submit to the mayor and the council, and shall file with the director for the use of the public, a copy of a report covering such features of its work as, in the opinion of the board, will be useful in attaining the objectives set forth in this chapter. In this report the board shall additionally note instances in which, in the opinion of the board, the director, in the application of the methods selected by him, erred as to a particular property or particular properties not brought before the board by any appeal, whether the error is deemed to have been by way of underassessment or overassessment. Before commencing this phase of its work the board shall publish, during the first week of September a notice specifying a period of at least ten days within which complaints may be filed by any taxpayer. Each complaint shall be in writing, shall identify the particular property involved, shall state the valuation claimed by the taxpayer and the grounds of objection to the assessment, and shall be filed with the director who shall transmit the same to the board. Not earlier than one week after the close of the period allowed for -2- filing complaints, the board shall hear the same, after first giving reasonable notice of the hearing to all interested taxpayers and the director. Like notice and hearing shall be given in order for the board to include in its report any other property not brought before it by an appeal. The board may proceed by districts designated by their tax map designation, and may from time to time publish the notice above provided for as work proceeds by districts. [(e)] (f) The director, in the making of assessments for the succeeding year, shall give due consideration to the report of the board made pursuant to subsection [(d)] (e). [(f)] (~ The board and each member thereof in addition to all other powers shall also have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, examine books and records, and hear and take evidence in relation to any subject pending before the board. It may request the tax appeal court, to order the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony by them, and the production of books, records and papers at the hearings of the board. SECTION 3. Material to be repealed is bracketed. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring need not be included. SECTION 4. In the event that any portion of the ordinance is declared invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other parts of this ordinance. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: C~+~r NCIL MEMBER, U TY OF HAWAII Hilo, Hawaii Date of Introduction: November 20, 1985 Date of 1st Readinq: November 20, 1985 Date of 2nd Reading: December 4, 1985 Effective Date: DeCembex 16, 1985 -3-