A proposed amendment to the Honolulu City Charter being considered today by the Charter Commission takes aim at skyrocketing city property tax assessments yet another way: It would cap property tax values at 2004 levels.

Approval today would be the first step in a months-long process that could land the measure on the November ballot, giving residents reeling from years of double-digit property tax increases the chance to decide.

City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said changing the charter is the wrong approach because it takes the decision away from the elected officials responsible for running the city. The proposal is among 25 to be considered by the commission.

Elected officials should not have their hands tied by the charter "so that we can respond to the needs of the community and society as it changes," he said.

The City Charter spells out how the county operates, the way the constitution does for the state and the nation. The charter requires that the mayor and council appoint a commission every 10 years to review the charter and submit suggested changes to voters on the general election ballot.

The 13-member Charter Commission has begun paring the 99 official proposals.

Today, the commission will listen to public testimony, discuss the proposals and vote on which ones could still go on the ballot. A final decision on the short list that voters will see will be made in the coming months.

The commission began gathering charter-amendment proposals last year, well before the latest property assessment notices showing an average 26 percent increase in values over the year before were mailed out.

Today's meeting comes as homeowners across O'ahu are calling for tax relief.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann, City Council members and residents have offered more than 10 proposals since the latest assessments went out in mid-December. Other proposals that relate to property taxes will be considered at other meetings, officials have said.

Councilman Gary Okino agrees that granting relief by changing the charter is the wrong way to go.

Capping taxes could create two classes of taxpayers, Okino said.

"You create an unfair situation where certain people pay a bigger percentage of city costs while getting essentially the same services," he said.

Okino is encouraged by all the proposals that have emerged at City Hall to deal with the tax increases expected to follow the high assessments.

"I think everybody sees how unfair it is," he said.

Okino said he's getting good feedback on his proposal to more than double the basic homeowner's exemption to give tax relief.

Dela Cruz, council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi and Okino have expressed concern that some of the relief proposals target only the elderly or the poor.

"I think we should give every homeowner a break," Okino said.

Hannemann spokesman Bill Brennan said the charter should be changed only after careful consideration. He said flexibility allows elected officials to decide the best plan depending on all the issues at hand.

"It's better left to administrations and councils to determine rather than having it dictated in the charter," Brennan said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.