"The issues in the case are not really involving the wisdom or the propriety or whether the charter amendment was a good idea ... It's a question of who can bring this type of lawsuit," said Robert Thomas, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing four Kaua'i residents trying to overturn the lower court ruling.

In a conference call yesterday with journalists, Thomas said the original case brought by the county against the amendment "really looks like a sham lawsuit," in part because rather than waiting for a taxpayer to file a lawsuit against the county government charged with implementing the measure, the county filed its own lawsuit — with the county attorney's office representing both sides in the case.

"I think you have to step back and ask, 'Why was this route chosen?' " Thomas said.

Kauai Circuit Court ultimately invalidated the voter-approved amendment with a ruling the group of Kaua'i residents hopes to have overturned.

Deputy county attorney Rosa Flores is representing the Kaua'i mayor, director of finance and council in the case.

In a statement yesterday, Flores said that for now "it would be improper to make any statements regarding the substance of my clients' position in the Ohana charter amendment case."

The charter amendment, which won voter approval in November 2005, rolled back property taxes to 1998 levels for those who have lived in their homes since then. For people who bought after 1998, taxes would have been based on the value at which their property was assessed at the time they purchased it. Annual tax increases for all homeowners would have been capped by the amendment at 2 percent starting in 2006.

The county administration and several county council members opposed the measure.

The now former Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro had said the amendment was not legal because the charter prohibits initiatives that amend ordinances dealing with taxes and the state constitution explicitly gives power over property taxes to the county's legislative branch.

Six months after the amendment was approved by voters, the council passed its own ordinance capping increases on owner-occupants' taxes at 2 percent.

Like much of the islands, residents on the Garden Isle have seen property assessments on their homes shoot up along with home prices in recent years.

The median price for the 32 sales made on the island last month was $824,500, up about 27 percent compared to the $651,250 median a year ago, according to Hawaii Information Service.

As Kaua'i voters went to the polls to decide the fate of the amendment, the latest figures at the time showed the island's assessed property values stood at $10.5 billion in the 2004-2005 fiscal year ended June 30 — more than a 70 percent increase over the 1999-2000 fiscal year when the total value was $6.12 billion.

Thomas said the five-member Supreme Court may also choose to decide who at the county level — the voters, the voters and the county council, or the council alone — has the right to enact tax policies.

More than 25 years ago a similar measure passed by California voters, Proposition 13, stood up to state and U.S. Supreme Court challenges and went on to inspire tax-limiting measures around the country.

On the Web:

Pacific Legal Foundation: http://www.pacificlegal.org