Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 2, 1 February 1994 — Council overrides Fasi veto [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Council overrides Fasi veto

O'ahu homesteaders overcame the final hurdle to their land tax exemption battle when Honolulu City Council voted to override Mayor Frank Fasi's veto of Bill 53. The December 22 vote was less dramatic than the hearing a month earlier but was no less important. The Council needed six votes to override the mayor's veto and only six councilmembers - DeSoto, Mansho, Felix, Doo, Morgado and Gill - had eome to the special meeting. When role eall was announced all councilmembers present voted in favor of the bill. A light applause broke out from the audience and the eouneil moved on to other business. O'ahu gets 62 percent of its operating budget from property taxes and stands to lose about $858,000 in revenues with the new law. Still, councilmembers felt the exemption was a good idea. "They should not have been paying the money in the first plaee," Bill 53 sponso'r John DeSoto commented after the override. "It's not going to win us any popularity contests but we felt it was the right thing to do."

Councilmembers sing "Hawai'i Aloha" after passing tax bill.