http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100429_military_homeowners_pay_taxes_get_some_services.html
Military homeowners pay taxes, get some services
By June Watanabe
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 29, 2010
Question: I saw City & County of Honolulu labels on trash bins in the Navy family housing area near Honolulu Airport. I’m presuming that city crews collect trash in that area and hope that the city is reimbursed for that service. How much does the Navy pay for that service?
Answer: Individual homeowners at military housing projects “outside the gates” of military bases pay real property taxes to the city and thus are entitled to its refuse collection services.
The city provides off-base refuse collection services to homes in the Honolulu Airport-Navy Marine Golf Course area, McGrew Point, Pearl City Peninsula, Iroquois Point and Kalaeloa, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.
He explained that these housing areas are on federal land leased to a private developer. The properties are taxable, so homeowners are assessed real property taxes.
However, Owens said the federal properties do not qualify for all city services, such as road maintenance.
Meanwhile, there are three agreements between the city and the military, covering the four major branches, which state that the military will not use the city’s refuse and road maintenance services, or routine police, fire and ambulance services, on any of the bases.
By the unilateral agreements, the city collects a “Military Housing Fee” in lieu of real property tax for on-base properties, Owens said.
The Army Family Housing agreement, signed Dec. 23, 2004, expires Feb. 15, 2055; the Hickam Family Housing agreement, signed Feb. 1, 2005, expires Jan 31, 2055; and the Ohana Military Communities agreement, signed March 13, 2009, expires April 30, 2054.
Owens said the agreements cover the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine bases.
“Each agreement has a set base contribution,” he said. “Each year, the contribution is adjusted by the percentage of change of the weighted average ‘Base Housing Allowance,’ but it can never be lower than the base contribution.”
As to how much the fees are, we were told the figures were not readily available.
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