• Waiting for a decision Waiting for a decision The Ohana Kauai county charter amendment was approved by an overwhelming majority of voters in the November 2 general election. The amendment would reform the County of Kaua‘i’s property tax system
• Waiting for a decision
Waiting for a decision
The Ohana Kauai county charter amendment was approved by an overwhelming majority of voters in the November 2 general election. The amendment would reform the County of Kaua‘i’s property tax system and likely push some of the tax burden of homeowners onto the business community.
The constitutionality of the amendment is being challenged by the county administration and the County Council. The basic argument is that the right to tax Kaua‘i residents on a county level belongs to the county’s legislative body – the County Council.
Mayor Bryan Baptiste announced Tuesday that he’ll stand by whatever decision Fifth Circuit Court Judge George Masuoka makes on the issue. Baptiste said if the amendment is judged to be unconstitutional he’ll move ahead with the property-tax-reform plan that’s being worked on by a county property tax task force.
On Monday a preliminary injunction was issued by the court to halt the implementation of the amendment until the judge’s review is complete.
While the Ohana Kauai amendment may or may not some day be part of the County Charter, this exercise shows that something needs to be done, and soon.
The Garden Island asked voters to reject the Ohana Kauai amendment, and we feel county government should be the source for deciding on how to make these changes to the property-tax code. However, what’s lacking and what’s hopefully coming about soon is a fast-track implementation of reform.
The overwhelming support for the amendment by the voters show there’s a great desire and need in our community for this. It may also show that voters, especially homeowners, felt that the county’s work on reforming the property tax wasn’t turning into real-life change fast enough.
