Two proposals to help ease property taxes for O'ahu residents emerged this week from City Council members. One plan would adjust the home exemption amount — depending on the increase or decrease in assessed values — while another would create a new homeowner's rate based on income.

Council Budget Chairman Todd Apo said all of the ideas will be considered as the city seeks a way to help ease the tax bite for homeowners stung by four years of double-digit increases in the assessed value of their properties.

Apo, who signed on as one of the five introducers of the exemption measure (Bill 5), said he's not ready to say that any one idea is better than the others. "They're all worth discussing," he said. "We'll deal with them all at once."

Also signing onto that proposal were Council members Charles Djou, Ann Kobayashi, Romy Cachola and Donovan Dela Cruz.

Djou said tying the exemption to the overall increase or decrease in assessed values seems a logical way to help taxpayers "and give some relief when we have these soaring values."

He said the idea would be to help in proportion to the changes, which would assist homeowners hit by increased values driven by other sales in their community. "The rate increases 10 percent, exemption goes up 10 percent; and if it increases 26 percent, then the exemption goes up 26 percent," he said.

The other proposal, Bill 7, was introduced by Kobayashi and Dela Cruz and would create a new rate for those earning $70,000 or less who own only one home, where they live.

Apo said he expects to begin discussing the property tax relief proposals next month, even before Mayor Mufi Hannemann announces his budget plan.

And citizens are gearing up as well with the grassroots groups planning a news conference today to unveil some of their ideas.

Kailua resident Bob Grantham said the Property Tax Relief Now group will join with representatives of Let Honolulu Vote and the League of Women Voters at noon today on the steps of Hono-lulu Hale.

Grantham said one of the proposals would consider ways to get tax relief to voters. Another would cap the increase in a homeowner's property assessment to 2 percent a year.

Djou said he still hopes that the Council will be able to hold the line on tax increases. He said he'd look carefully at all proposals but has concerns that Bill 7 would appear to offer a preferential rate only to those who earn $70,000 or less, which creates fairness issues for others, especially those who have incomes only slightly above that mark.

"My preference would be a more broad-based tax cut," Djou said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.