03-24-2006, 11:25 AM
Aloha Puna Folks,
The tax rates might be the same - per $1,000 - for the various types of property, however, because of the classifications, the various types are valued differently.
One acre of commercial property would go for $500,000 and pay the taxes on that amount, while the same acre if it was agricultural would be valued at $100,000 and pay taxes on that amount. Same tax rate, but different valuation. Lands put into conservation have a really high tax rate, but an extremely low valuation since you can't build on them. The end result is less (almost no) taxes even though they have the "highest" tax rate. (If you want to build later, I think you have to pay all the back taxes, too.) It is very confusing.
On a personal side, the tax we will pay this year didn't change much at all from last year's tax, but we have the homeowner exemption and live here. I think that makes most of the difference. I don't remember how many years ago it was (but it wasn't that long ago) that they decided to have a minimum tax rate of $50 per lot no matter what since many folks were paying less than that. Those were mostly for the vacant land lots in the big Puna subs.
There seems to be a theme of organizing to protest, sue, etc. as well as to demand more infrastructure. I'm not sure if either of those would be a good thing. No need to group together to protest, our local government is easy enough to influence, go find your council member and have a discussion with her or him. Or go to the County meetings in Hilo. They are open to the public and you can join right in if you want. (Hey, free entertainment, as well!) Better yet, run for a council seat. Then YOU can be the government. (Plus get paid for it.) There are loads of area meetings you can attend to let your government officials know your thoughts. We had one yesterday for folks along this coast. Why waste time protesting when you can join in and help with solutions?
The other "infrastructure" theme might need a bit of thought before jumping in and muddying up the water. We are rural and we should try to stay that way. There are enough big cities folks can live in if they want so we don't need to change our ruralness. What "infrastructures" do we really need and is the County the right folks to discuss it with? There are private trash folks who you can contract with to pick up trash. (Or start your own business!). If you want sidewalks, wouldn't it be easier and more appropriate to discuss it with your local subdivision group or the Pahoa Town group? County sewers would require a hefty assessment to install them as well as a monthly payment to pay for continued service. Would it be worth it? Once your septic or cesspool is installed, that is certainly less expensive to maintain. There is a private water company for parts of Nanawale, are there others? Electric, mail, cell phones and cable are all private companies and not in the kuleana of the County.
Also, on an island, WE are the government. If there is a problem, WE should be part of the solution. There is no THEY - it is just all us folks. If we hui together it should be for a positive reason (new sidewalks in our neighborhood, a new park, new community sculpture, etc.) We would get a lot better results that way. If you have a complaint, go to the office creating the difficulty and try to resolve it there without a lot of fuss. Generally, when a lot of fuss is made, it gets really messy and the end compromise doesn't please everyone. (JMHO)
A hui hou,
Cathy
The tax rates might be the same - per $1,000 - for the various types of property, however, because of the classifications, the various types are valued differently.
One acre of commercial property would go for $500,000 and pay the taxes on that amount, while the same acre if it was agricultural would be valued at $100,000 and pay taxes on that amount. Same tax rate, but different valuation. Lands put into conservation have a really high tax rate, but an extremely low valuation since you can't build on them. The end result is less (almost no) taxes even though they have the "highest" tax rate. (If you want to build later, I think you have to pay all the back taxes, too.) It is very confusing.
On a personal side, the tax we will pay this year didn't change much at all from last year's tax, but we have the homeowner exemption and live here. I think that makes most of the difference. I don't remember how many years ago it was (but it wasn't that long ago) that they decided to have a minimum tax rate of $50 per lot no matter what since many folks were paying less than that. Those were mostly for the vacant land lots in the big Puna subs.
There seems to be a theme of organizing to protest, sue, etc. as well as to demand more infrastructure. I'm not sure if either of those would be a good thing. No need to group together to protest, our local government is easy enough to influence, go find your council member and have a discussion with her or him. Or go to the County meetings in Hilo. They are open to the public and you can join right in if you want. (Hey, free entertainment, as well!) Better yet, run for a council seat. Then YOU can be the government. (Plus get paid for it.) There are loads of area meetings you can attend to let your government officials know your thoughts. We had one yesterday for folks along this coast. Why waste time protesting when you can join in and help with solutions?
The other "infrastructure" theme might need a bit of thought before jumping in and muddying up the water. We are rural and we should try to stay that way. There are enough big cities folks can live in if they want so we don't need to change our ruralness. What "infrastructures" do we really need and is the County the right folks to discuss it with? There are private trash folks who you can contract with to pick up trash. (Or start your own business!). If you want sidewalks, wouldn't it be easier and more appropriate to discuss it with your local subdivision group or the Pahoa Town group? County sewers would require a hefty assessment to install them as well as a monthly payment to pay for continued service. Would it be worth it? Once your septic or cesspool is installed, that is certainly less expensive to maintain. There is a private water company for parts of Nanawale, are there others? Electric, mail, cell phones and cable are all private companies and not in the kuleana of the County.
Also, on an island, WE are the government. If there is a problem, WE should be part of the solution. There is no THEY - it is just all us folks. If we hui together it should be for a positive reason (new sidewalks in our neighborhood, a new park, new community sculpture, etc.) We would get a lot better results that way. If you have a complaint, go to the office creating the difficulty and try to resolve it there without a lot of fuss. Generally, when a lot of fuss is made, it gets really messy and the end compromise doesn't please everyone. (JMHO)
A hui hou,
Cathy
Kurt Wilson