Posted on: Saturday, December 22, 2001

Hearing on property tax assessments sought

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

City Councilman Duke Bainum has asked the Council's Budget Committee to hold an informational hearing on how the latest city property tax assessments were calculated.

Bainum sent a letter yesterday to Budget Committee chairman Steve Holmes asking for a hearing on the matter. The request comes after city officials sent out about 260,000 property tax assessment notices last week, prompting some complaints from property owners who said the city's estimates of the values of their homes increased dramatically, particularly in East Honolulu and Windward O'ahu.

Overall assessments this year rose by about $4 billion to $89.1 billion, the first time since 1994 that overall assessments increased.

"I respectfully request that the Budget Committee schedule an informational meeting to address the issue of how the valuations are derived," wrote Bainum, who represents much of East Honolulu. "Our constituents must be given an understanding of the process by which their taxes were calculated so they can determine whether or not their assessment is fair and reasonable."

Holmes, on a Mainland trip and not expected to arrive back in the Islands until the end of the year, could not be reached for comment.

The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet again Jan. 9.

City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura earlier this week said the city adopted a new method last year for estimating the values of properties and incorporated that into the process it uses to arrive at tax assessments. Today, the city uses both the "old" method of estimating values based on the cost of construction of homes and a new method based more on the market value of the homes, he said.

Property owners who think their property tax assessments are incorrect or unfair have until Jan. 15 to file appeals with the city. Filing an appeal will entitle homeowners to a hearing before one of two city Real Property Tax Appeal Boards.