Real property tax administrator Stan Sitko presents before the Hawaii County Council.

(BIVN) – On May 3, the Hawaii County Council approved a resolution authorizing a five-year agreement with Marshall and Swift to use the company’s proprietary software for valuing real property costs in Hawaii County.

The software comes at a cost of $332,197.60, and will be payable in yearly installments.

The resolution was waived past the Finance Committee in order to be taken up by the full council.

Mayor Harry Kim recently announced his intention to increase property taxes by 6.5%, due to shortfalls in the fiscal year 2017-18 budget.

The county’s real property tax administrator Stan Sitko attended the council meeting in Hilo, carrying a full binder representing the hard copy of the Marshall and Swift software.

“It would be very difficult for us to continue without this data,” Sitko said.

Sitko explained how the software provides unique customization, like templates for post and pier properties which are less common on the mainland. It also takes into account local building codes, and is further broken down into Kona, Hilo and other subsections.

The resolution was approved before Mayor Kim’s May 5th message proposing the property tax increases was submitted to the council. However, councilmembers already had a good idea of what was coming as the budget discussions are set to intensify in the coming weeks.

“This rather inocuos resolution has broader inplimcations as they relate to our real propety tax revenues,” noted Hilo councilman Aaron Chung.