Posted on: Thursday, October 21, 2004

BUREAUCRACY BUSTER

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. I was given a car about two years ago which had not been registered in several years. To register the car, I was told by city officials I would have to pay back fees of about $550. But motor vehicle staff said the car would "drop off" the computer after about five years, so I waited a year but found it was still in the system. In July, I went back and was told that with the new computer system, the car would never drop off and the back registration was $852.54. The car is worth about $500, so I am going to have to junk it. Do I have any other options?

A. It doesn't look like you do. Dennis Kamimura, city motor vehicle and licensing administrator, said the registration fees automatically become a lien on the vehicle. By law, that means you have to pay all the delinquent taxes, he said. Kamimura said the legal obligation stays with the car even if the current owner didn't own the car when the fees piled up. Organizations that take car donations require a "clean title" to prevent inheriting someone else's unpaid fees, as you did. We'll follow up if we hear of another solution.

Q. I called the city's street lighting department about a streetlight pole base missing its cover, and having standing water and exposed wires inside the base on Hui Iwa Street. A month went by and nothing was done. I'm concerned about children getting hurt. I called a week later to report a streetlight out and it was handled in about three days. Why is one fix harder than the other?

A. City spokeswoman Carol Costa said the crew that went out on the report got the wrong address and could find no problem to fix. When they got the follow-up question from us, they installed a new cover and cleaned out a weep hole to allow water to drain out of the base. Streetlight crews said they would be going back to deal with the corrosion of anchor bolts there and at other poles along the street. This shows why it's good to follow up on complaints, especially with departments that generally respond quickly. If you hadn't asked, nothing would have been fixed until someone else complained.

Q. I live in Kailua and need to have some bulky items picked up from my house. Where do I call?

A. In Kailua and Waimanalo, call 262-8346. On O'ahu, those numbers can be found on page 32 or 33 of the Verizon phone book, depending on which year you have.

Phone: 535-2454 and leave a message. Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number in case we need more information.