(a) Property owners of record shall be eligible to defer the payment of assessments if the following conditions are met:
(1) The property shall be owned jointly or severally, either in fee simple or leasehold;
(2) The owners shall be required to pay improvement district assessments on property situated within an improvement district;
(3) The property shall serve as the only residence of one of the property owners of record who has either:
(A) Attained the age of 65 years; or
(B) Is permanently and totally disabled as defined in HRS § 235-1, income tax law; and
(4) The owners’ family residing on the property is subject to financial hardship by the assessments imposed as a result of the creation of the improvement district. Prima facie evidence of hardship shall be a showing that the average annual payment for all assessments levied against the subject property exceeds 1 percent of the adjusted gross income of the property owner of record residing upon the property, or that the income of the property owner of record does not exceed $20,000 per year.
(b) Any property owner of record who resides upon the property may apply for deferral of assessment payments by filing a statement with the director of budget and fiscal services on a form to be provided by the director of budget and fiscal services accompanied by sufficient documentation to establish eligibility. If an application is based upon permanent and total disability, the application shall include a certification of the permanent and total disability by the applicant’s physician.
The application shall be filed within 20 days after the applicant has received a notice of assessment.
The director of budget and fiscal services shall act upon an application within 30 days of filing by notifying the applicant of either the acceptance or rejection of the application. All notifications of rejection shall state the reasons therefor.
Upon acceptance of an application, the director of budget and fiscal services shall offer to enter into a contract with the applicant. This contract shall be on a form provided by the director of budget and fiscal services and shall obligate the city to transfer from the capital projects fund to the improvement district bond and interest redemption fund the principal and any interest due on the assessment to the applicant’s property. In return, the applicant will agree to pay to the city the amount of the deferred assessment, including interest chargeable at the same rate as originally established by the council, upon the termination of the deferral.
(c) A deferral shall terminate when any of the following events occur:
(1) A participant residing upon the property terminates the deferral by giving written notice to the director of budget and fiscal services;
(2) A participant residing upon the property dies and there are no other participants residing upon the property at that time, in which case the amount of deferral and interest shall be a claim against the property that is the subject of the deferral;
(3) The land that is the subject of the deferral is sold, or an agreement of sale is executed, or some person other than the participant residing upon the property becomes the owner;
(4) The land that is the subject of the deferral is no longer the only dwelling of the participant residing upon the property; or
(5) The occupation of the structure on the property in the deferred assessment program is terminated for any other reason.
(Sec. 24-4.13, R.O. 1978 (1987 Supp. to 1983 Ed.)) (1990 Code, Ch. 14, Art. 26, § 14-26.13) (Am. Ords. 89-2, 90-91)