Kokua Line: Is the property tax break for owner-occupants changing?

Question: How can we support the proposal to increase Oahu’s home exemption?

Answer: A subcommittee of the Oahu Real Property Tax Advisory Commission has recommended that Honolulu County raise the home exemption available to owner-occupants. The exemption amount, which is now $100,000 for an eligible owner-occupant under age 65, is subtracted from a property’s assessed value before the property tax is calculated, thereby lowering the tax due. For eligible owner- occupants 65 and older, the home exemption is $140,000. The subcommittee’s preliminary recommendation doesn’t say what the home exemption should be, only that it should rise because of inflation and increasing property values.

The full commission, which advises the Honolulu City Council, is reviewing Oahu’s property tax exemptions and will recommend whether to maintain, repeal or modify each. There are about two dozen exemptions under review, but we’re mostly hearing about the home exemption, likely because it is so widely used.

As for how to express your support, the commission has a meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, at which the public can testify via Webex. Or you can submit written testimony. For details, go to the commission’s website at 808ne.ws/orptac and click on the link for the upcoming meeting. You could also tell your City Council representative; find contact information at honolulucity council.org.

To learn more about Oahu property tax exemptions (including the home exemption), see Chapter 8, Article 10, of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, 808ne.ws/roh810.

Q: I went to Manoa Falls on Tuesday, and at the parking lot near the trailhead there were a couple of people sitting at a table charging for parking. … They did not appear to be official state of Hawaii employees. It was a very casual operation. Do you know who is charging for the parking? Is the parking lot private property? They also charged residents.

A: Yes, it’s private property. The Manoa Falls parking lot is closed (gated and fenced) due to persistent thefts from parked cars, leaving two options: paying to park in the Paradise Park lot (the area you saw) or parking for free on a public street lower down in the neighborhood, the state says. “There is absolutely no parking on the fire lane beyond the Paradise parking lot and before the Lyon Arboretum entrance,” according to the Na Ala Hele Trail and Access Program’s website, which also tells hikers not to leave anything valuable in their vehicles.

AJ McWhorter, a spokesman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, confirmed that the program’s website was up to date. “Paradise Park is privately owned and they can charge for parking. If the public has a problem with this activity they can notify the Manoa representative or bring it before the neighborhood board,” he said.

Q: Did you get the details on the underlying conditions in COVID-19 deaths in Hawaii?

A: No. A spokesman says Hawaii’s Department of Health doesn’t have the information.

“The CDC has identified a long list of conditions that increase the risk of severe illness or death for people infected with COVID-19. That list includes obesity, pregnancy, diabetes, even physical inactivity. Many of the conditions are common and can be managed, but when combined with COVID-19 can result in dire consequences. The Department of Health does not have detailed data on pre-existing conditions that contributed to COVID-19 related deaths,” spokesman Brooks Baehr said in an email.

One or more underlying conditions were present in 96% of the 1,173 Hawaii COVID-19 deaths analyzed, according to the department’s latest mortality summary, but it doesn’t specify the conditions. You and other readers have asked how often obesity was a factor.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.