HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-29 BOR Minutes
COUNTY OF HAWAII
TAX BOARD OF REVIEW
MEETING MINUTES – Organizational Meeting
(Rescheduled from Wednesday, March 1, 2017)
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Real Property Tax Conference Room
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, Hawaii
CALL TO ORDER:
Vice-Chairman Wesley Takai called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Present were: Board Members Wesley Takai, Melvin Ventura and Emygrace
Reinhard; Craig Masuda, Deputy Corporation Counsel; Stanley Sitko, Real
Property Tax Administrator, Lisa Miura Real Property Tax Assistant
Administrator, Keita Jo, Real Property Tax Appraisal Supervisor, and Real
Property Tax Appeals Board Clerk, Elizabeth Nina Swain.
There was no one in attendance from the public.
STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: No statements were made.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes from the appeals and complaint hearings held on October 18 and 19,
2016, were distributed to the Board Members prior to the meeting for their
review.
Corrections were noted as follows:
Minutes of October 18, 2016 Page 2
First case noted as Case #25320 - Misspelling of the name “Anges”,
should read “Agnes”
Minutes of October 18, 2016 Page 3
First line – Location of “South Kona”, should read “North Kona”
First case noted as Case #25524 – Location of “South Kona”, should read
“North Kona”
No other corrections were noted.
Mr. Ventura moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Seconded by Mrs.
Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote of 3:0.
OLD BUSINESS: No old business discussed.
NEW BUSINESS:
Welcome Any New Board Members.
There were no new members to introduce.
Election of Officers.
Mr. Ventura nominated Mr. David as Chairman. No other nominations
were received.
Mr. Takai moved to close the nominations. Seconded by Mrs.
Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote
of 3:0.
Mr. Takai moved to elect Donald David as Chairman. Seconded by
Mr. Ventura. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a
vote of 3:0.
Mr. Ventura nominated Mr. Takai as Vice-Chairman. No other
nominations were received.
Mr. Ventura moved to close the nominations. Seconded by Mrs.
Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote
of 3:0.
Mr. Ventura moved to elect Wesley Takai as Vice-Chairman.
Seconded by Mrs. Ventura. A call for discussion was made. Motion
passed by a vote of 3:0.
General Legal Discussion and Training.
Mr. Masuda presented information on the sunshine laws, procedures and
rules of the Board of Review and other related matters.
Establishing Dates for 2017 Tax Appeal Case Hearings.
A list of the tentative appeal hearing dates was distributed to the
Members. The dates are as follows:
Hilo: July 11, 12; August 8, 9; September 12, 13; October 10, 11;
November 7, 8; and December 12, 13
Kona: July 25, 26; August 29, 30; September 26, 27; October 24, 25
November 21, 22; December 5, 6
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Hilo hearings will be held at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in the
Aupuni Center. Kona hearings will be held in Building G, Community Hale
at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
Establishing Workshop Date, Place and Agenda.
Mrs. Miura announced that the Annual Board of Review Workshop will be
held on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at the Aupuni Center Conference Room
in Hilo. The workshop is scheduled to be an all-day event. Members
were informed to present their requests to the administration as to
programs, procedures, etc., that they would want more information and/or
training provided on at the workshop.
Discussion of Bills Relating to Assessments.
Mr. Sitko commented that there is a state bill that is pending that would
require adding a surcharge to education for out-of-state residents and that
the County was objecting to the proposed bill. Mr. Sitko also stated that a
bill proposed by the State which would require adding an additional tax to
property taxes that would be turned over to the State. All of the Counties
are against the bill.
Also discussed was the State’s proposal to see if the real property tax
functions could be turned back over to the State.
Comments from Real Property Tax Administrator
Mr. Sitko thanked the Members for volunteering their service as Board
Members. He announced that the division will be continuing to work on
cases and try to resolve them with the appellants.
Mr. Sitko also stated that the entire County is facing major budget cuts.
The Board of Review’s budget got cut as well affecting the travel budget.
He informed the Members that the division may need to eliminate travel
from the night before for the administration and support staff members.
Other Miscellaneous Reports and Comments
Mr. Takai inquired as to the status of a few of the items contained in the
Board of Review’s annual report:
o Repealing of the non-spec program;
o Granting home exemptions to nursing homes; and
o Appeal fee being made non-refundable.
Mr. Sitko stated that no actions were taken by the Members of the County
Council as to the annual report that was prepared by the Board of Review
and submitted to the Mayor and County Council.
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Request for Reconsideration of Denial of Appeal for TMK 8-8-007-016-
0000 (John L. Rogan)
A letter from John L. Rogan was presented to the Members requesting
reconsideration of the denial of his appeal filed for TMK 8-8-007-016-000.
The letter was reviewed by the Members and questions were presented to
the County. Mr. Jo responded on behalf of the County. A call for
questions was made.
Mr. Ventura moved to accept the appeal as a timely filed appeal.
Seconded by Mrs. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion
passed by a vote of 3:0.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mr. Takai moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Ventura. A call for
discussion was made. Motion to adjourn passed by a vote of 3:0.
Meeting was adjourned at 10:56 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
E. Nina Swain
Elizabeth (Nina) Swain
Real Property Appeals Board Clerk
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