Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-03-18
Three WAYSOUT
OF CITY TANGLE
ARE DISCERNED
Two of Them Involve Holding
of Special Session of
-. Legislature

Out Of the financial hole into which
the city Of Honolulu has slid, there
are three possible paths Of escapes,
according to iigIres in the auditor IS
office. These figures are now being
used by the mayor and his advisers
in preparation of the memorial to Gov.
ernor Pinkham, backing up their plea
for q special session of the legisla-
tl.-e. 49,.
The paths are these:
]. A possibility that the tax values
OF Oahu will show leap for 1916 from
$90,000,G00 to S1G0,000.e00 or there
abouts - ....
2. Special session of the legislature
to equalize some OF the financial bur.
den between the city and the terri
tory, and pass other relief legislation,
3. Raising of the tax-rate through
action OF the special session. A tax.
rate increase, however: might not be
operative this year, but would help to
straighten out finances IN 1917.
The taX-rate now is 127, which
means $12,700 per million dollars Of
tax value. Out OF the revenues from
taxation on the present values, 500,
O00, 900, the territory's budget calls for
$545,000. The city gets the remainder,
but, as will be shown later, much Of
this is tied up Tigidly in special funds.
Inasmuch as the territory gets $545,
G004for 1916, which is already assured
on the present basis, any increase in
the rea.izations from taxes will go to
the city and county. Thus every mil.
lion in the increased tax value will
increase the net revenue of the mu-
niclpality by $1,000.
In material increase in tax values
for 1916, therefore, lies hope that the
city may escape from its financial
hole. The increase, however, will
have TO be in the neighborhood Of
$10,G00,000 in order to assure the
city's getting into the clear.
Informally the city officials and the
territorial tax assessor have come to
the conclusion that material in.
crease may be realized in tax values,
due primarily to the high prices OF
sugar and consequent increase in
Oahu plantation figures. 1t will not
be known, however, for month or so,
what the increase may be expected to
reach.
The second possibility, that of a
special session, is Of course now wide
" discussed 1t might relieve the city
OF some Of its present financial bur-
dens. City officials say that at pres
entsthe city suffers or benefits by fall
or rise in tax values, but that the ter
ritory IS not similarly situated and
that most OF the burden falls on the
city.
SFhere the City Is 6urdened.
3 Some of their reasons for this state
7nent are:
The city pays indirectly for the col
lection OF all taxes, though it Is un-
der a territorial levy. City financiers
hold that Ultimately the municipality
foots the entire bill for tax collecting,
though the territory gets a consider
able share Of the proceeds.
The city must pay for school main
tenance while having no control of the
schools.
The court expenses are paid by the
city. When this expense was turned
over to the city, 1t was figured that
the revenues from liquor licenses, also
made city realization, would Offset
the court expenses, but the court ex-
spenses are several thousand dollars
higher than the license receipts
New Duties Undertaken
Care Of dependent children, dona.
tions to Leahi home, the emergency:
hospital expenses, PaIama settlement
donation and other large expenses
were either thrust upon the city by
the legislature or assumed by the city
recently as a charge and a duty that
must be met.
II Is also pointed out at the audit.
sor's office that whereas the last board
was left $4,000 by its predecessor,
the present board found but $500
when Il took office.
The board which went out of office
in january, 1913. left $74,271.64 in the
general fund and $S442.70 in the road
tax fund. This was velvet for the
next board, which was the Democratic
board.
The Democrats left but $l44Ss2 in
the general fund and SAT- in the
road-tax fund.
Democratic Claims Far OF.
Democratic politicians during the
last few days have been contending
that their board left some $4,000 in
the treasury. The auditors office
shows that this was only mythical
balance, inasmuch as it was tied up
in the cash basis fund, and similar
amounts have been put aside by the
present board The auditors figures
show that the Democrats left practi-
cally nothing in the treasury available
for general use.
Moreover, the Democrats did not
have to put as much into the cash
basis fund during their first year as
the present board has been compelled
TO do, the law being operative only
after the Democrats had been half
year In Office. In that first year the
1eI3.19l5 board put only $21,416 into
the cash basis fund, whereas the Re.
publican board last year put more
than $4,000 into the fund.
These figures are cited by city hall
authorities to show that though there
may have been some waste of city
funds under the present administra.
ton. no possible economy could have
kept the city from running behind.
To fba rofirin0 Democratic mayor