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HomeMy WebLinkAbout040912_Minutes_Approved COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: COST CONTROL COMMISSION Meeting Date I April 9, 2012 Location Mo'ikeha Building—Meeting Room 2A/13 Start of Meeting: 1:35 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:45 p.m. Present Chair Dirk Apao; Members: Arryl Kaneshiro; Sandi Sterker; and Glen Takenouchi Also First Deputy County Attorney Amy Esaki; Board & Commissions Office Staff. Support Clerk Mercedes Youn; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Excused Vice-Chair Lawrence Chaffin Jr., and Laurie Yoshida Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Apao called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. Approval of Regular Open Session Minutes of March 12, 2012 Minutes Ms. Sterker requested that on page fourteen(14) let the minutes reflect that Mr. Hunt stronjz indicated that consideration should be taken to allocate across the County, the level of service in terms of the police and fire that the County provides. Additionally, Ms. Sterker requested that on page four (4) let the minutes reflect that there are a lot of people in the community that are looking for work. With no further corrections, Chair Apao called for the motion. Ms. Sterker moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0 CCC 2012-06 Letter of resignation dated 03/02/12 from Brant Fuchigami, to Maw Carvalho and Chair Dirk Apao and Commission Members Ms. Sterker moved to accept the communication. Ms. Sterker asked whether the Office of Boards and Commissions is Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion. continuing their search for Mr. Fuchigami's replacement. Motion carried 4:0 Paula Morikami, Administrator indicated that the search for his replacement is on-going and that a few names were recommended. Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACT1ON CCC 2012-07 Communication dated 03/16/12 from Chair Dirk Apao and Commission Members, to Council Chair Jay Furfaro responding to a memorandum dated 02/02/12 regarding the Cost Control Commission 2011 Annual Report Ms. Sterker moved to accept the communication. Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0 CCC 2012-08 Communication dated 03/13/12 from Chair Dirk Apao and Commission Members, to Janine Rapozo, Human Resources Taskforce requesting a representative from the taskforce be present at the Cost Control Commission meeting onApril 9, 2012 to provide an update on the progress by the taskforce. Ms. Sterker moved to defer this matter for continued discussion at the Commissions May 14th meeting. Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0 CCC 2011-08 Review and discussion of the County's real property tax exemptions and rate settings. (On-going) Chair Apao mentioned that Bill 2425 (Tim Bynum's Bill)property tax exemption was defeated by a 2 to 5 vote and because of that he felt that it provided the Commission with additional time to gather more information in order to make a recommendation. He indicated that the Commission should be mindful when making a recommendation because it could affect the future budget. He also felt that it would have been easier if some exemptions had passed. Ms. Sterker asked whether it would be appropriate to make a recommendation to raise the minimum tax. She felt that during the Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION workshop session the members were all in agreement that the minimum tax needed to be adjusted. Ms. Morikami informed the Commission that a request was sent to Steve Hunt, Real Property Appraisal Officer, requesting for information on the number of homeowners that actually pay the minimum tax of$25.00 and those who pay below $150.00 and a listing of 501 (c) (3)non-profit organizations. Mr. Kaneshiro stated that in addition to confirming the minimum real property taxes for each island, he also asked to get the dates they were implemented. And if the rates were in effect for many years it will further increase any justification on the Commissions side for an increase. Ms. Sterker indicated that once the Commission receives the information, it could move forward and make recommendations based on the information. Ms. Sterker mentioned that during the workshop there was discussion on eliminating the 16 type of exemptions with zero amounts. Ms. Sterker further indicated that the Commission also requested a list of all 501 (c) (3) non-profit organizations. Staff informed the Commission that the information should be available for the May meeting. Ms. Sterker found it interesting that it costs a homeowner$40,000 to build a safe room only to receive a$200.00 credit. Arryl Kaneshiro felt that the Safe Room type exemption should not be eliminated because there are thirty-six (36) on the island. Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION First Deputy Attorney Amy Esaki indicated that she would do some research on whether Kauai is the only island with a Safe Room exemption due to the destruction by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Chair Apao asked if the exemption for a Slaughter House came up for discussion during the workshop. Ms. Sterker indicated that there are two (2) on the island. Mr. Kaneshiro noted that some of the exemptions may not pertain to Kauai. Ms. Esaki agreed and advised the Commission to check the information that is provided by Staff in their binders. Ms. Morikami informed the Commission that the information is available on tab number 2 in the binder and advised the Commission that they should focus on that list. Ms. Sterker asked if there are any Crop Farms on the island that would need a crop shelter; she also asked if Kauai has tobacco farms. Mr. Takenouchi stated that there are nine (9) crop shelters on the island and one of which is a tobacco farm. Ms. Sterker asked whether Crop Shelters are solely for agricultural purposes and if they require any type of County services. Ms. Esaki noted that Green Houses may fall under Crop Shelter exemption and that she believes the crop shelter would require certain County services in case there is a fire. Arryl Kaneshiro felt that the Crop Shelters should be only be taxed on the structure and not the land because it's being used for Ag purposes. Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Esaki noted that the County has an exemption for all property used in the manufacture of pulp and paper. She explained that the exemption was implemented during the time the sugar mill was in business because it manufactured caneck. Ms. Sterker suggested that the Commission eliminate the forest reserve exemption. Chair Apao indicated that there are 1,157 forest reserves on Kauai. Ms. Sterker indicated that it would be difficult to do anything about the charitable exemption until the Commission receives the information from the real property tax division. Ms. Morikami recalled that some of the churches fall under charitable exemption and others are not; she questioned which of the charitable organizations qualify for the exemption. Ms. Sterker agreed and stated that there are some churches that are more charitable than others. Ms. Sterker noted that there are 145 parcels of land on the island which means that some churches have more than one location throughout the island. Chair Apao asked whether the schools are under be the State government. Ms. Esaki noted that Section 5A-11.10 of the County Code describes the purposes of each charitable organization. Property used for church purposes, including incidental activities,parsonages, and church grounds, are exempt from taxation being limited to realty exclusive of burial grounds. Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ms. Sterker felt that since the pulp and paper exemption was implemented back in the day when the sugar mills were operating, the Commission can easily eliminate that exemption. Ms. Esaki made a suggestion that the Commission look at tab number(4) of their binder which lists each type of exemptions for the island of Kauai. After a lengthy discussion, Staff was instructed to request the following information from the Real Property Tax Division. 1. Why are the following charitable organizations, cemeteries, churches, hospitals, and schools listed separately? 2. Provide a breakdown of what specifically is included under the charitable by category and provide examples 3. What is included under the miscellaneous and give an explanation and purpose for it. 4. What is a tangible personal product as described in Section 5A- 11.16 on page 98 of Chapter 5A Real Property Tax 5. In reference to native forest, where does it state in the ordinance that this is a permitted exemption 6. Why isn't orchard development listed on the tax year 2011 (FY12) exemption type, as described and defined in Section 5A-11.25 of the County Code. 7. In addition to confirming the minimum real property taxes for each island, would we also be able to get the dates they were implemented? If the rates were in effect for many years it will further increase any justification for an increase. Announcements Next meeting—May 14, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. at the Mo'ikeha Building in the Liquor Conference Room 3. Cost Control Commission Open Session April 9, 2012 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Adjournment With no further business to discuss, Chair Apao called for the motion to adjourn the meeting. At 2:45 p.m. Ms. Sterker moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Takenouchi seconded the motion Motion carried 4:0 Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Mercedes Youn, Staff Support Clerk Dirk Apao, Chair (X) Approved as circulated on May 14, 2012. ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of meeting.