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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0024.017 2012-2014 • PIGouNcn. COUNTY CLERKCalM• Z4 COUNTY ^ " LIMYAll July 9, 2013 2013 JUL -9 AN 10 112 Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 SUBJECT: Res 18-13 (Draft 3) Establishes a Real Property Tax Stakeholders Task Force Dear Members of the Hawaii County Council: This is my written testimony to Res 18-13 (Draft 3) which establishes a real property tax stakeholders task force. While it is unfortunate that the panel has not yet begun its review of the International Association of Assessing Officers' (IAAO) audit report, it certainly is important to have members who will work cohesively to accomplish the monumental task assigned to them. Remember that all recommendations and changes may affect your taxes, my taxes, and the taxes of your constituents for years to come. It is imperative that all panel members be well informed of the auditors' position on each of the 40 recommendations and to understand the county's present procedures and the specific section(s) of Chapter 19 of the Hawaii County Code that governs each item under question. It is also important for the panel members to receive information on issues and amendments that may have occurred in the past 10, 20. 30, or even 40 years concerning the topics discussed in the recommendations. The historical information may give the members an insight as to the original intent of a specific section of the ordinance and the amendments that may have occurred throughout the years to meet the changes in time. I personally do not believe that our present real property program is broken. It is not perfect and there certainly needs to be a review of some of the present procedures. Many of the concerns, however, can be corrected by changes in internal policies rather than code amendments as recommended in the auditors' report. While some of the report's recommendations are worth working on, the panel will encounter others that might not be beneficial or applicable to our county's program. The statements made in the above two paragraphs were based on the knowledge and experience I gained during my thirty nine (39) years of employment in the real property division and the five years I spent on the Finance Department's Board of Review after my retirement. My employment with the real property office started in January 1969 when the program was still under the jurisdiction of the State government and ended with my retirement in December 2007. During those years, the different positions I held Comm. No. 02 7 1 Ref.To: P/Co&-~"-/ Ref. Date. JUL 1 8 2013 were that of a real property appraiser, supervising appraiser, and county real property tax administrator. The four positions, including being a member of the Board of Review, required me to assume different roles in the county's real property structure and broadened my knowledge of this vital county program. Hawaii County has been very proactive in its real property program since the assessment responsibility was transferred from the State to the County on July 1, 1981. There have been three reviews of Chapter 19 since the county took over the taxation responsibility. Reviews 1 and 2 which were tied together happened in the mid 1990's and the third occurred from 2001 —2003. Reviews 1 and 2 spanned over a two year period with meetings held one afternoon a month. Review 3 also spanned over two years with meetings held two hours a day twice a month. As a supervising appraiser, I was honored to have been asked to be on all three review committees and to have witnessed how well members of each of the committees functioned to achieve their assigned goals while at the same time trying to satisfy the concerns of property owners. One last item I would like to address is the frequently made statement that the system has become so complex that property owners often have a hard time understanding it. Regretfully that is true at times. Because many sections of the code cover a multitude of situations and/or exceptions, it is written in a language that tries to cover almost all situations. I am not a legal expert by any means but I encountered this issue at all levels of government while doing researches throughout my government career. This is addressed here because it might be difficult for the panel members to simplify the present language of some sections of Chapter 19 during their review process. A solution on an individual basis is for the taxpayer to personally visit the real property office for help. Their counter service is excellent. Thank you for your time and good luck to all of your future endeavors to make this county an even better place to live. Sincerely, Cis WESLEY TAKAI 1222-E Kaumana Drive Hilo, HI 96720 Phone: 961-4601 2