HomeMy WebLinkAboutProposed Revision to the Rules and Regulations of Board of Review RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF REVIEW
COUNTY OF HAWAII, STATE OF HAWAII
RELATING TO PROCEDURE AND FORMS TO BE USED
The Board of Review of the County of Hawaii hereby promulgates the following rules
and regulations relating to procedure and forms.
RULE 1. Definitions.
1.1 "Board"means the Board of Review for the County of Hawaii,whose address is
County of Hawaii Real Property Tax Office, 865 Piilani Street, Hilo,Hawaii
96720.
1.2 "Chairperson"means the chairperson of the Board.
1.3 "Chapter 19"or"Section 19" shall mean Chapter 19 or Sections of Chapter 19 of
the Hawaii County Code.
1.4 "Taxpayer"or"appellant/owner"means the person taking an appeal to the Board
under the provisions of Chapter 19 of the Hawaii County Code as amended.
1.5 "Director"means the Director of Finance of the County of Hawaii or his
authorized subordinate.
RULE 2. Time and Place of Meetin)Z.
2.1 The Board shall hold its regular meeting annually at the Real Property Tax Office
Conference Room or other public place at 10:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday
of March, or on any other date not later than April 9 of the year.
RULE 3. Quoru m.
3.1 The Board shall not transact any business unless a quorum is present. The
presence of three Board members,who are eligible to act on the matter before the
Board, shall constitute a quorum. The concurrence of three Board members shall
be necessary to make any action of the Board valid.
32 Executive Session may be initiated and acted upon with the concurrence of three
board members.
RULE 4. Appearance and Practice Before the Board.
4.1 Any individual taxpayer may appear for himself before the Board.
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4.2 The following persons may appear in a representative capacity before the Board:
(a) attorneys at law duly qualified and entitled to practice before the Supreme
Court of the State of Hawaii;
(b) a bona fide officer,partner, or full-time employee of an individual firm,
association,partnership, or corporation duly authorized to appear for such
individual firm, association,partnership or corporation;
(c) a person representing an immediate member of his family;
(d) the director or any other representative of the director; [ ]
(e) any real estate appraiser licensed and certified pursuant to Hawaii
Revised Statutes �466K; and
M K01 any other person approved by the Board.
4.3 All persons appearing in proceedings before the Board shall conform to the
standards of ethical conduct required of attorneys before the courts of Hawaii. If
any such person does not conform to such standards,the Board may decline to
permit such person to appear before the Board. Any person who wilfully disrupts
a meeting to prevent or compromise the conduct of a meeting may be removed.
4.4 No former employee after severing his employment with the department of
finance or the department of corporation counsel may appear in a representative
capacity for a fee, compensation or other consideration in a proceeding involving
a tax appeal matter which he has investigated or passed upon while in such
employ during the period of prohibition as stated in Hawaii Coun , Code
Chapter 2 Article 15 Code of Ethics.
4.5 No former employee of the department of finance shall at any time after severing
his employment with the department appear, except as pursuant to Hawaii
County Code Chapter 2 Article 15 Code of Ethics. [with
lent,the depal4ff o
4.6 The order of procedure shall be:
(a) the director describes the property which is the subject of the appeal and
any general information helpful in understanding the general
neighborhood.
(b) the taxpayer states the reason for the appeal. Taxpayer's case presentation
shall be limited to five minutes subject to extension as may be allowed by
the Chailperson.
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(c) the director states reasons for the assessed value or other action by the
department. Director's case presentation shall be limited to five minutes
subject to extension as may be allowed by the Chairperson.
The chairperson may alter the procedure for special cases where clarity is better
served by a different order.
RULE 5. Filing of Papers.
5.1 Papers required to be filed with the Board shall be deemed filed upon actual
receipt by the chairperson of the Board or the director accompanied by proof of
service upon parties required to be served during an open meeting or during
regular business hours.
5.2 The notice of appeal to the Board and the decision of the Board on each appeal
decided shall be filed with the director.
RULE 6. Commencement of Appeal.
6.1 An appeal to the Board is taken by filing a written notice of appeal with the
director on or before the date fixed by law for the taking of the appeal and the
deposit of costs for each appeal as set in Chapter 19.
6.2 An appeal to the Board shall be deemed to have been taken in time if the notice
thereof shall have been received in the Real Property Tax Office or deposited in
the mail,postage prepaid,postmarked and properly addressed to the director, on
or before said date.
RULE 7. Notice of Appeal.
7.1 The notice of appeal shall(a)identify the assessment or other dispute with the
director in accord with Section 19-93 involved in the appeal, (b) state the grounds
of objection, and(c)be signed by the taxpayer or his duly authorized
representative.
7.2 The notice shall, in addition, state that the appeal is from the assessment of the
total property value and shall specify whether the valuation of the land,building,
or both, are in dispute. In the event the appeal involves the disallowance of a
claim for exemption,the notice shall identify the exemption claimed.
7.3 Failure to comply with the provisions of 7.1 and 7.2 of this rule shall be grounds
for dismissal of the appeal.
7.4 Any notice of appeal may be amended at any time prior to the Board's decision,
provided the amendment(a) does not substantially change the dispute or lower the
valuation claimed.
RULE 8. Notice of Hearing of Appeals.
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8.1 In any appeal, all parties shall be served with a notice at least [€W (5)] fifteen
days before the date set for the hearing of the appeal. The notice shall state
the time and place of the hearing.
RULE 9. Computation of Time.
9.1 In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules,by order of
the Board or by any applicable law, the day of the act, event, or default after
which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last
day of the period so computed is to be included,unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or
a legal holiday for the Board, in which event the period runs until the end of the
next day. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than seven(7)
days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays for the Board shall be
excluded in the computation.
RULE 10. Continuances or Extensions of Time.
10.1 Any party desiring a continuance of a hearing shall, immediately upon receipt of
notice of the hearing, or as soon thereafter as facts requiring such continuance
come to his knowledge,notify the chairperson in writing of his desire, stating in
detail the reasons for requesting the continuance. The chairperson, in passing
upon a request for continuance, shall consider whether such request was promptly
and timely made. For good cause shown,the chairperson may grant such a
continuance. The chairperson may at any time order a continuance on his own
motion.
10.2 Whenever a party has a right or is required to take action within the period
prescribed or allowed by the Board,the chairperson may(a)before the expiration
of the specified period,with or without notice, extend such period; or(b)upon
good cause shown,permit the act to be done after the expiration of the specified
period.
RULE 11. Service of Papers.
11.1 Except as otherwise provided by law,the Board shall cause to be served all
orders,notices and other papers issued by it, together with any other papers which
it is required by law to serve. Every other paper shall be served by the party filing
it.
11.2 The decision of the Board on an appeal or complaint shall be served by the
director by delivering a certified copy thereof to the taxpayer or by mailing the
copy addressed to his last known place of residence and by serving an additional
copy to counsel or representative of record. All other papers served by either the
Board or any party shall be served upon all counsel of record at the time of such
filing and upon parties themselves when not represented by counsel.
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11.3 Service of papers shall be made personally or,unless otherwise provided by law,
by mail.
11.4 Service by mail is complete upon mailing.
RULE 12. Subpoenas.
12.1 Every subpoena shall state the name of the Board and the title of the proceeding,
if any, and shall command the person to whom it is directed to attend and give
testimony or produce designated books, documents or things under his control at a
specified time and place.
12.2 Upon application of counsel or other representative authorized to practice before
the Board for any party to an appeal,there shall be issued to such party subpoenas
requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of evidence
in such proceeding. The Board may issue subpoenas to parties not so represented
upon request or upon a showing of general relevance and reasonable scope of the
testimony or evidence sought.
12.3 Service of a subpoena shall be made as provided by law.
RULE 13. Fees.
13.1 Witnesses summoned before the Board shall be paid by the party at whose
instance they appear the same fees and mileage that are paid to witnesses in any
civil cause in any court of the State of Hawaii.
RULE 14. Docket and Minutes.
14.1 The Board shall maintain a docket of all appeals, and each appeal shall be
assigned a number.
14.2 The name and address of each person making an appearance in a representative
capacity shall be noted in the minutes.
14.3 Written minutes shall be maintained of each meeting and be subject to the
approval of the board at a subsequent session.
RULE 15. Forms.
15.1 Forms of notices of appeal are available in and may be obtained from the Real
Property Tax Office.
RULE 16. Request for Information.
16.1 Any member of the public may obtain information about the Board or make
submittals and requests to the Board.
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16.2 All requests and submittals shall be written and addressed to the Board. If
received by the director, copies of any requests shall be forwarded to the
Chairperson.
RULE 17. Request for Repeal[-1, Adoption, or Amendment of Rule.
17.1 Any person may petition the Board to adopt or repeal any of these rules.
17.2 The petition must be in writing and set forth the reasons supporting the adoption,
amendment, or repeal of any of these rules.
17.3 The petition shall be mailed to the Board at its address.
17.4 Within thirty(30) days after the Board receives such a petition, it shall, in writing,
either deny the petition setting forth its reasons for denial or initiate proceedings
in accordance with Hawaii Revised Statutes §91-3 for the adoption, amendment,
or repeal of the rule.
RULE 18. [
,
nrTE19.] Privac .
[4-9-4] 18.1 The Board shall make accessible to any person,personal records, as
defined in Hawaii Revised Statutes §92F, that pertain to the person;provided that
the limitations which pertain to the granting of access to personal records as set
forth in Hawaii Revised Statutes §92F shall be applicable to the Board.
[4#.4] 18.2 Any person may make a request to the Board for access to a personal
record that pertains to that person. The request shall be written, delivered to the
Board at its address, and must clearly describe the personal record to which the
person requests access.
[49-.3] 18.3 The Board shall follow the procedure for granting or denying access to
personal records as set forth in Hawaii Revised Statutes §92F.
[4#:4] 18.4 The Board shall not disclose or authorize the disclosure of any personal
record other than to the individual to whom it pertains except as authorized by
Hawai'i Revised Statutes §92F.
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RULE [-20] 19. Severability.
[2-04]19.1 If any provision of these Rules and Regulations or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the
Rules and Regulations which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end,the provisions of these Rules and Regulations are
declared to be severable. Where any of these Rules and Regulations are in
conflict with Chapter 19, then Chapter 19 shall prevail.
Effective Date: These rules shall become effective ten (10) days after filing with the
Office of the County Clerk, County of Hawaii, State of Hawaii.
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