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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-07 BOR Minutes COUNTY OF HAWAII TAX BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING MINUTES – Organizational Meeting Wednesday, March 7, 2018 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, Emygrace Reinhard and Michael Hughes; J Yoshimoto, Deputy Corporation Counsel; Lisa Miura, Acting Real Property Tax Administrator, Keita Jo, Acting Real Property Tax Assistant Administrator, and Real Property Tax Appeals Board Clerk, Elizabeth Nina Swain. 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 11, 2017, were distributed to the Board Members prior to the meeting for their review. There were no corrections made. Ms. Reinhard moved to accept the minutes as presented. Seconded by Mr. Ventura. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote of 4:0. OLD BUSINESS: No old business discussed. NEW BUSINESS:  Welcome Any New Board Members. Present was Michael Hughes, the newest member to the Board. Mr. Hughes was nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council late last year but was not able to serve due to the few meetings that were held.  Election of Officers. Mr. Takai nominated Mr. Ventura as Chairman. No other nominations were received. Mr. Takai moved to elect Melvin Ventura as Chairman. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote of 4:0. Mr. Ventura nominated Mr. Takai as Vice-Chairman. No other nominations were received. Mr. Ventura moved to elect Wesley Takai as Vice-Chairman. Seconded by Ms. Reinhard. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote of 4:0.  Establishing Dates for 2018 Tax Appeal Case Hearings. A list of the tentative appeal hearing dates was distributed to the Members. The dates are as follows: Hilo: August 15, 16; September 19, 20; October 17, 18 Kona: July 17, 18; July 24, 25; August 21, 22; August 28, 29; September 4, 5; September 25, 26; October 2, 3; November 20, 21; December 11, 12 Hilo hearings will be held at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in the Aupuni Center on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Kona hearings will be held in Building G, Community Hale at the West Hawaii Civic Center on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mr. Ventura, Mr. Hughes and Ms. Reinhard each provided their dates of unavailability due to scheduling conflicts. Additional dates will be obtained should the number of appeal hearings exceed the number of days currently scheduled.  Establishing Workshop Date, Place and Agenda. The Annual Board of Review Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, June 20, 2018, 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. 2 Mr. Hughes stated that he would not be available for the workshop due to a schedule conflict. Discussion held and decision reached to reschedule the workshop for a later date, possibly in early July.  Discussion of Bills Relating to Assessments. Mrs. Miura reported that there are no current bills pending relating to assessments. Mrs. Miura informed the Members that the Real Property Tax Review Working Group discussed the Board of Review’s 2017 Annual Report and supported the recommendation to remove the non-spec program. The group will be providing their recommendation to remove the program when they present their letter to the County Council.  General Legal Discussion and Training. Mr. Yoshimoto informed the members that legal discussion and training will be presented at the Board’s annual workshop.  Comments from Real Property Tax Administrator Mrs. Miura informed the Members of the retirement of Stanley Sitko as the Real Property Tax Administrator. Mr. Sitko retired in December 2017. Mrs. Miura expressed the County’s appreciation of the Board Member’s as volunteers and thanked the Members for their service. The working relationship between the County and the Board has improved of the years which has helped in having the appeal hearings run a lot smoother and quicker.  Other Miscellaneous Reports and Comments o Mr. Takai reported that he had the opportunity to attend the County Council meeting held that discussed the Tax Board of Review’s 2017 Annual Report. Mr. Takai presented the following information:  The Council Members were against the recommendation of a non-refundable appeal fee. Members felt that it would not be fair to the taxpayers if the error in assessment was on the County.  No other matter was discussed by the Council Members and no questions were asked of Mr. Takai.  Mr. Takai stated that he was instructed by the Council that the Board’s recommendations should be made through the department or division for presentation to the County Council. Mr. Yoshimoto stated that he would look into the 3 suggestion as to the legal protocol and report back to the Members at a later date. o The Members were informed that the State Board of Review Conference will be held on Thursday, June 7, on Oahu. The organizers are seeking suggestions as to any topics of interest that the Members would want to have presented. Discussion held and one suggestion was made to have a presentation on the issue of vacation rentals and how the other Counties are dealing with the matter. No other suggestions were presented. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Ventura moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Takai. A call for discussion was made. Motion to adjourn passed by a vote of 4:0. Meeting was adjourned at 10:43 a.m. Respectfully submitted, E. Nina Swain Elizabeth (Nina) Swain Real Property Appeals Board Clerk 4