Farmers urge more review of tax system

WAILUKU – Maui County Council members heard from farmers this week asking them to take more time before making changes to the county’s agricultural property tax laws.

The council Budget and Finance Committee met Tuesday to discuss a proposal that would carve out the land under a home on agricultural property and require it to be taxed in the same way as any other residential lot. Council members supporting the measure said it would make the property tax system more fair and equal for all residents.

But many farmers said they were concerned about any changes that would likely increase what they pay in property taxes.

“We have a tax equity issue,” said Darren Strand, president of the Maui County Farm Bureau and Haliimaile Pineapple Co. “As a business operator, that’s not my issue. My issue is, any increase in taxes is going to hurt my bottom line.”

He echoed others in calling for more review.

“There just hasn’t been enough time for us to process (this) and really get the information out,” he said.

Council members agreed, deciding to defer discussion of the issue and schedule nighttime meetings in the community before taking action.

“There’s a lot of concern out there, and I’d like to take a little extra time to have people get their questions answered,” said Council Member Mike White, who introduced the legislation and has spearheaded discussion of disparities in the agricultural property tax system.

Under White’s proposal, the county would tax the “house lot” on agricultural property based on its fair market value, as if it were a stand-alone lot.

That would be a significant change from the current system, in which the county estimates the value of the house lot only as a percentage of what the entire property is worth.

The change would likely increase property taxes on a number of agricultural house lots, which under the current system often pay less in taxes than lots of the same size in residential areas.

“It gets back to a fairness issue,” White said.

Diminishing water supply concern for new council

WAILUKU – Council Member Riki Hokama reopened the issue of moving the Central Maui sewage treatment plant inland at a meeting of the Water Resources Committee on Tuesday.

It was a surprise from the fiscally conservative Hokama. While he was off the council because of term limits, the County Council debated the wisdom of moving the Wailuku-Kahului plant (which is in a tsunami zone near the airport), but it shied away from the price tag of $300 million to $400 million.

But as long as members of the new council were throwing out surprising ideas, Council Member Joe Pontanilla mused that perhaps the county should “have an ordinance about how much greenery to put in” in landscaped dry areas.

He didn’t pursue that, but it showed that the council is concerned about diminishing water supplies.

The item under discussion was a report from the Department of Environmental Management about ways to increase the use of treated sewage effluent from the Wailuku-Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

All the public testimony was in favor of making more use of reclaimed water. Even if it means higher rates and fees, said Irene Bowie, executive director of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation.

It would. Department of Environmental Management Director Kyle Ginoza said he had anticipated such a question, and the cheapest alternative would mean about a $5-per-month increase in water rates if spread out over the whole county.

Appraisal — County buyout equals pricey water on Lanai

WAILUKU – Earlier this year, the County Council demanded that the Lanai Co. “ask” for an appraisal of the value of its water company, with a view toward acquiring it to be part of the Department of Water Supply.

The appraisal by Brown & Caldwell is in. It estimates that if the county acquires the Lanai water system, rates would have to be raised nearly 900 percent, since costs of operation, new equipment and paying for the system would require nearly 10 times as much money as the $553,000 in revenue that the private company now enjoys.

On Tuesday, the Water Resources Committee, without comment, passed the agenda item on to the next council. If it had not done something, the Lanai proposal would have been filed.

Unresolved council projects expire automatically with the council that gave them birth, unless specific action is taken to pass the uncompleted work on to the next council. The next council will have five new members.

Mayor-elect Alan Arakawa has said since the beginning of his first term in 2003 that he wanted all water in the county to come under public control. That would include private water companies at Kapalua, Kaanapali, the Wailuku Water Co. and East Maui Irrigation.

However, during his first term, Arakawa did not acquire any private water for the county.

Outright purchase of well backed by panel

WAILUKU – Hearing passionate pleas for Upcountry water meters, the Maui County Council Water Resources Committee expressed support for an outright purchase of a privately developed well in Makawao that could cost about $8 million.

Committee Chairman Mike Victorino recommended deferral of the issue with a pledge to push for a county report within the next 45 days on the possible purchase of the groundwater well that could lead to water meters for many Upcountry property owners long on a waiting list.

“Outright purchase is what we prefer,” Victorino said, referring to the negotiation of a water source agreement with Piiholo South LLC. “There’s more work to be done, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

The County Council adopted a resolution Aug. 6, urging the county administration to acquire a well that, according to developers Zachary Franks and Cynthia Warner, has been tested to produce 1.7 million gallons per day of water pure enough to drink without further treatment.