Honolulu City Council Budget Chairman Nestor Garcia wants to lower a proposed tax credit for most homeowners next year from a planned $175 to $150 as part of a new budget package that would restore a $6 million to expand curbside recycling to West O‘ahu.

The area from Waipi‘o to Makua is the last region on the island without the recycling program, and service was to begin next year. But the Council budget committee last month recommended delaying the implementation as a cost-cutting measure for next year’s budget.
Garcia’s plan also calls for keeping the tax rate for residential properties at $3.59 per $1,000 of assessed value, the same as the budget plan proposed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann in March. The Hannemann plan, however, called for only a $75 tax credit for homeowners. The tax credit only applies to home owners who occupy their home.
This year’s tax rate for residential property owners was $3.29 per $1,000 but city officials say they need to increase the rate to sustain current services in the face of lower home values.
Whether the other eight members of the Council agree to the plan remains to be seen. The Council is slated to take a final vote on the $1.8 billion operating budget on Wednesday.
The fiscal year begins July 1.