Kokua Line: Can we ask the mayor whatever we want?

Question: I saw that the mayor will be going around the island making presentations. Will we be able to ask whatever we want? Or is this a canned deal where they talk and we listen? I want to ask about property taxes, specifically about relief and reform of a system that is hurting longtime residents who live in their homes and don’t want to sell them. Will the mayor be going over this? When the assessments first came out he said there would be relief but I haven’t heard anything since then.

Answer: Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi “is looking forward to answering any question, from any member of the public in attendance, no matter how difficult the question might be — and if he personally doesn’t have the answer, he’s asked that either the director or deputy director of nearly every department within the City and County of Honolulu be present at each meeting, so that they can provide the answer instead. Listening to the concerns of residents in different neighborhoods across the island is the stated priority for each of these meetings, and we intend to devote the overwhelming majority of each meeting to doing exactly that,” Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in an email.

Eleven two-hour meetings are scheduled from March 21 through May 25. All but the first forum are scheduled for Thursday evenings. See the full schedule at oneoahu.org/townhall.

As for your topic of concern, the mayor expects to make an announcement about property tax relief “well before” the first town hall is held, Scheuring said. He’ll answer questions on that topic too, as they come up.

You are one of numerous readers concerned about rising property taxes on Oahu resulting from rising home valuations based on even a few sales in a neighborhood.

Q: Auwe! I renewed my car registration online over three weeks ago and still haven’t received the new emblem in the mail. It’s about to expire! What’s going on?

A: A “technological glitch” delayed processing of online vehicle registration renewals that were submitted from Jan. 26 through Feb. 16, according to the city. The problem was fixed Feb. 17 and customers who renewed online during the affected period should receive their updated registration and emblem in the mail by Tuesday, it said, which is the end of the month. If you do not receive your registration and emblem by then, go to any Oahu satellite city hall to pick it up, the city said; bring a printed or electronic copy of the confirmation email you received when you renewed online.

Q: Are the e-bike rebates going to launch this year or not?

A: Yes, at the end of this month, said Shelly Kuni­shige, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. The program will initially rely on state highways funds, she said, because the state law approved last year establishing the program did not authorize expenditure of general funds appropriated.

“Fixing the funding authority would allow us to use the appropriated funds, either for a new cycle of rebates or to get reimbursement,” she said. A bill pending in the Legislature would clarify the funding, and expand the program. For more information about the rebate program as it stands now, see 808ne.ws/ebike.

Other readers we’ve heard from hope that lawmakers will pay more attention to the hazards of e-bikes’ flammable lithium ion batteries. The Associated Press reported Friday that the number of fires caused by batteries used to power electric bicycles and scooters have spiked this year in New York City, with a total of 22 fires reported that have killed two people and injured 36. Fire officials described malfunctioning batteries left plugged in overnight as a dual menace; the fires they sparked blocked escape routes from victims’ apartments because the batteries were plugged in near hallways, doors or other exits.

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.