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April 16, 2024 <br /> Once again we want to protest against proposed legislation to impose even more expenses and <br /> hoops to jump through for hosts of STVRs in Hawaii County. We are already paying almost <br /> 20% off the top of our earned income for state and county TAT and GET taxes. Additional fees <br /> make us feel as if we are being gouged just because we have been successful. We have been <br /> renting out a five-bedroom house for 34 years as a STVR. We live on the property and manage <br /> it ourselves. In all of that time, we have never had one complaint. We enforce noise <br /> regulations, pay our taxes, and provide ample off-street parking. Our vacation rental is clean <br /> and well maintained. We keep our rates low so that we can provide an affordable venue for <br /> multi-generational families to enjoy our island and one another's company. We also provide a <br /> venue for medical students, science teams, church groups, construction workers, meditation <br /> groups, yoga groups, athletes and their families, health workers, etc. Our clientele is not <br /> attracted to hotels or to condos in resort areas. They simply will find somewhere more <br /> hospitable to spend their money. <br /> We feel as if it is unfair to cut our income off or to charge us even more for the service we are <br /> providing. We built the house as owner-builders with the idea of it helping us (two retired public <br /> schoolteachers) make ends meet in a state that has an excessively high standard of living. We <br /> have tried to follow the rules and color inside the lines while watching the county ignore those <br /> who haven't been so meticulous. Your emphasis should be on more equitable and rigorous tax <br /> collection and more accountability on those owners of STVRs who are not playing by the rules. <br /> Those of us who are trying to do the right thing should not have to pay the consequences for <br /> those who are not. Creating more rules to enforce when you cannot hold people accountable <br /> for the rules you already have seems counterproductive and foolish. <br /> Our county council is supposed to represent all of us—including those of us who count on the <br /> income from our STVRs to augment our retirement income. The pushback against all of this <br /> legislation has been palpable and powerful, but most of us feel as if our representatives are not <br /> listening. Heather Kimball is hellbent on soldiering on, fueled by her erroneous belief that she is <br /> going to solve the housing shortage by penalizing us. Sometimes it is wiser to listen to the <br /> concerns of your constituency rather than just doubling down on your own agenda. This new <br /> legislation, should it pass, will be crippling to hosts and will have a negative impact on the <br /> economy of the Big Island. It also sends the wrong message to visitors who want to spend <br /> some time in the Aloha state. <br /> Please enforce the rules you have and don't penalize us for following those rules and for <br /> creating a successful business that supplements our retirement income. <br /> Thank you. <br /> Don and Kerrill Kephart <br /> donkephart@earthlink.net <br /> 808-882-7321 <br />