Maui Mayor looking to raise .... hell ?

Well, the Maui County Mayor is looking to raise .... hell ?

This article from Cris Hamilton at the Maui News.

WAILUKU With $53 million less in the county's anticipated fiscal year 2011 budget revenues compared with last year, Mayor Charmaine Tavares on Monday proposed to increase or "adjust" the real property tax rates for several classifications.

While Tavares may have asked for real property tax increases, assessed home and land values have sunk so deeply in the global recession - even on Maui, where home values skyrocketed for years - it is estimated that the county's largest source of revenue will still be down by eight digits.

In order to maintain and improve Maui County's utilities, Tavares also said it will be necessary to make increases to some utility fees for at least a second year in a row.

Her proposed budget would make what she said she considers to be modest increases to wastewater treatment, water service, garbage pickup and vehicle registration fees.

Maui Bus, the county's increasingly popular public transit system, likely will also see some fare hikes, as well as beginning to charge customers fares for routes that previously were free, she said.

Maui County had managed to survive the recession to this point without raising taxes. Over the past two years, elected officials instead have cut department budgets, imposed hiring freezes and reduced spending on overtime and travel.

"As we all know, the slowdown of the economy has had a serious effect on real estate, causing a reduction in assessed values," Tavares said during a news conference Monday where she handed out her budget proposal. "If tax rates remain at the same level as the current year, it would mean a projected revenue decrease of $30 million to the county."

This would lead to a drastic reduction in services, she said. So, Tavares is asking the County Council to adjust tax rates upward to generate $223 million in real property taxes, which still is actually $10 million less than the $233 million raised during fiscal year 2010.

Property taxes make up 41 percent of the county's $563 million current fiscal year 2010 budget. It is Maui County's largest funding source, with the hotel tax, or transient accommodations tax, a distant second with about $17 million generated this year.

Despite Tavares' proposed property tax increases, Maui County will continue to have the lowest property taxes in the state, she said on Monday.

Here's a breakdown of the proposed real property tax rates over the current fiscal year. The amounts are per $1,000 of net taxable assessed valuation:

* Time share: $14; no change.

* Improved residential: $5.80; plus 95 cents.

* Apartment: $5; plus 45 cents.

* Commercial: $6; plus 25 cents.

* Industrial: $6.50; no change.

* Agricultural: $5; plus 50 cents.

* Conservation: $5; plus 25 cents.

* Hotel & Resort: $8.75; plus 55 cents.

* Unimproved residential: $7.25; plus $1.90.

* Homeowner: $2.50; plus 50 cents.

* Commercial Residential: $6.25; new tax category.

The County Council still needs to work out its version of the budget during meetings over the next couple months. The fiscal year 2011 budget goes into effect July 1.

A few council members in recent weeks have suggested reducing the homeowners property tax exemption as a way to deal with the shortfall. But that was not an option proffered by the mayor on Monday.

The mayor and County Council were able to make it through the last budget cycle without touching real property taxes. But with fixed costs on the rise, such as fuel and health insurance, and maintenance always an imperative, utility rates will have to go up, as they have in past years, county officials said.

Tavares said the departments need the money in order to keep equipment operating safely and to stay in good standing with other government agencies that grant water-quality and other permits.

This is what Tavares proposed on Monday:

* The monthly base charge for wastewater service would increase by $1.50.

* Water rates will go up by $1.75 a month.

* Tipping fees at the landfill for solid waste will go from 2 cents to 3 cents per pound, or $3 per ton.

* Vehicle registration fees would go up 1 percent per pound of vehicle weight.

* Nearly all of the Maui Bus routes will remain $1 per trip. But commuter fares will double to $2 for the runs to and from Upcountry and East, South, Central and West Maui.

* The Wailuku-Kahului loop routes will no longer be free and cost $1.

Tavares said that the bus system is a subsidized program that costs $7 million a year to operate. She said it will continue to grow to match ridership, including a $1 million program this year to finally install much-anticipated bus shelters.

However, Maui Bus expenses break down to actually cost $4 per passenger ride, Tavares said.

"I recognize the value of our bus service to the community and believe that we can continue to support keeping bus fares at a portion of what it costs taxpayers to operate," said Tavares, who has said that expanding the Maui Bus system is one of her top achievements during this, her first term as mayor.