• Property tax relief • More KIUC musing Property tax relief Imagine my delight when I received a letter from the county telling me that I qualified for the 2004 Real Property Tax Relief-Circuit Breaker Credit. Imagine my dismay a
• Property tax relief
• More KIUC musing
Property tax relief
Imagine my delight when I received a letter from the county telling me that I qualified for the 2004 Real Property Tax Relief-Circuit Breaker Credit. Imagine my dismay a few days later when I received my property tax bill and it was hundreds of dollars higher than last year. Obviously a mistake, right? Nope!! My ‘relief’ was more than offset by an increase in valuation and tax rate.
What the good County giveth with one hand, it taketh away with the other.
Our politicians and bureaucrats pay lip service to the need for more affordable housing while going out of their way to see to it that existing housing rapidly becomes unaffordable. And what do they do with this windfall tax money besides awarding themselves big pay raises? Well, recently they spent over $200,000 to have a Honolulu firm create yet another plan for Lihu‘e. No doubt, when finished, this plan will join dozens of others, unread and gathering dust in the county offices. In theory, we have a county planning department — but they seem capable of only planning to hire outside planners to make plans for our island. Oh, wait — I forgot that the planning department does a great job of attaching expensive restrictions and requirements to all attempts to build housing on the island, thus guaranteeing that the results will never be affordable.
In November, please vote for the Real Property Tax amendment — and while you are at it, how about voting out all the incumbents.
Stan Godes
Hanalei
More KIUC musing
I was pleasantly surprised at the quick response from KIUC to my letter. Both KIUC’s President’s letter in Viewpoints, and the article by Paul Curtis with insights from KIUC officials, should be helpful to all the members. That is a good thing.
The second surprise was the way Dave Camp took Ray Chuan and me to the woodshed for complaining that the Energy Rate Adjustment Clause (ERAC) led to unfair electricity bills and for blaming KIUC’s board and management. Wow! Isimply asked what I believe to be two reasonable questions, the answers to which I felt would be of interest to the members.
Camp’s 650 word diatribe chided both of us for questioning the current rates, and for not knowing better. Can it be possible that this rebuke comes from the same David Camp who sought election to the KIUC Board last fall? In the 2003 KIUC Board of Directors Election Guide distributed to all members, that David Camp proclaimed “Immediate rate cuts are my highest priority. KIUC has earned over $10 million already and will have even greater profits after purchasing KPP. It’s time to lower rates to motivate PMRF, timeshare/hotel operators and others to stay with us on the grid.” Is this a flip flop or what?
It was also nice to hear from Walter Lewis again on the subject of KIUC. It has been almost two years since he repeatedly warned us that the KIUC sky would fall if permitted to purchase Kaua‘i’s electrical business.
How nice to hear the picture he paints now…very good results since the acquisition, clearly generating undisclosed but very substantial profit margins…building a cash hoard. Not to worry, Walter, the cash hoard isn’t flying away to Connecticut. The profits stay right on Kaua‘i in the growing equity accounts of all the KIUC members. I hope that you decided to become a member.
Fran Brennan
Princeville
