Pared city budget likely to pass

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The $1.169 billion operating budget that City Council members are expected to approve tomorrow includes higher property taxes and bus fares, but removes unpopular proposals such as a trash collection fee for a residential recycling program and counter fees at satellite city halls.

The proposal before the council is a pared-down version of the $1.178 billion operating budget proposed by Harris on March 2. Although council members only trimmed $900,000 from the budget expenditures, they found ways to eliminate more than $13 million in fees proposed by Harris.

"I think we tried to do what's fair," said Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi. "We tried to eliminate the fees that would hurt the greater majority."

Harris' proposal was balanced with $25 million in fee proposals and a $23 million property tax rate increase. After almost three months of debate, the council's Budget Committee last week reluctantly accepted the tax rate increase, but rejected several fees, and sent its version of the budget to the full council for the vote tomorrow.

To partially counter the loss of revenue, the committee voted to raise adult bus fare to $1.75 from $1.50, in addition to approving the administration's proposal to raise the price of an adult monthly bus pass to $30 from $27.

After contentious hearings that pit Kobayashi against the administration, and at times against council Chairman Gary Okino, the compromise budget draft and accompanying fee and tax proposals are expected to pass with enough votes to survive a potential veto by Harris.

Okino, who led the opposition to an earlier version of the bill, helped come up with a measure that made the budget more palatable to everyone involved.

Harris has not indicated whether he would veto this version, sign it or let it pass into law without his signature. He could try to have portions of the bill amended on the floor, but would require the support of six of the nine council members to get the amendment passed.

One of the most troublesome proposals in Harris' budget was a residential curbside recycling program that included an optional $8 fee to maintain twice-a-week trash pickup.

Some council members opposed charging residents for trash collection, while others saw flaws in the plan to use the same container for trash, green waste and recyclables. Kobayashi also frequently pointed to a problem with mixing glass, paper and plastic and compacting them together to be separated by recyclers.

However, Kobayashi said there's $340,000 in the committee's budget proposal that can be used to set up "a proper recycling plan" for residents. She said that the council will work with the administration and the United Public Workers Union over the next year to come up with a plan that will work.

If the budget is approved, single-family homeowners will face higher property tax bills starting in August. Their bills will be higher — $10 for every $100,000 of property valuation, based on assessments sent out in December.

Apartment and condominium owners will see some relief as their property tax rate is dropped 4.5 percent.

Non-residential property owners will be combined into a single rate, which translates into a higher tax rate across the board.

Commercial and conservation property owners face the largest increase — $138 for every $100,000 of assessed value.

Unlike residential homeowners, who would have to pay higher taxes anyway because of increased property valuation, in general, property owners in all other categories would have paid less taxes without a rate change because of their declining property values.

The Budget Committee has found several ways to pass some of the higher charges on to visitors, such as increasing the Hanauma Bay entrance fee to $5 from $3, and raising the price of a 4-day tourist bus pass to $20 from $15.

Visiting sports teams also will be charged to use the city's sports facilities for baseball, soccer and tennis tournaments under a new fee schedule that will be open for public comment.

The fees also will apply to local leagues that use the fields for large events or charge admission.

Some of the fees may trickle down to residents looking to buy or remodel their homes. Costs for building permits and other services within the Department of Planning and Permitting will rise, as will the cost for developers to connect to the city's wastewater system.

The council is scheduled to hear the budget proposal at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.

Comparing proposals for city fee increases

For the past three months, the City Council's Budget Committee has debated $25 million in fee proposals and a $23 million increase in property tax rates proposed by Mayor Jeremy Harris to create revenue for the fiscal year 2004 operating budget. Tomorrow, the full council will take a final vote on the Budget Committee's latest proposal, which will take effect July 1 if passed. Here is a review of the fee proposals.