The latest proposal for property tax relief would more than double the exemptions given to Honolulu homeowners.

City Councilman Gary Okino, a retired city planner, said yesterday that he studied the various proposals before drafting a bill that would increase the exemptions available to owner-occupants as well as a companion measure that would provide a tax credit to get that relief started for tax bills due this year.

An additional credit would be needed because any change in the standard exemption cannot take effect this year, Okino said.

Okino noted that the previous change in the exemption occurred more than 15 years ago "when the median price of a single-family home was only $210,000." The median price at the end of September 2005 was $615,000, and the increased values are making tax bills bigger.

"The change is long overdue," Okino said. "It's not a one-time credit."

Honolulu property values climbed nearly 26 percent over last year, capping six years of growth that have nearly doubled assessed values and doubled and tripled tax bills over the past five years. That growth has left homeowners reeling from the increases in taxes, which are driven by a record real estate market.

Other relief proposals range from credits to capping the amount the tax could increase in a year.

Okino estimates that the increased exemption he proposes would mean an additional $225 in savings for the basic homeowner exemption and then would increase with age to a giveback of up to $862.50 for those 75 and older. He said his proposal would cost about $60 million, which would still leave at least $60 million in additional anticipated property tax income for the city to cover other costs.

While the increased property values look good on paper, homeowners who have no plans to sell their property see little benefit from the boost and complain that the tax bills put a hardship on many. Property owners have grown increasingly vocal about the increases since assessment notices went out in mid-December.

Values are up across O'ahu since last year, led by a nearly 44 percent average increase in the area from Ka'a'awa to Kahuku, and 38 percent on both the North Shore and in the area from Nanakuli to Makua.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has proposed what amounts to a one-time tax credit of $40 million split among a new classification of homeowners, which also targets owner-occupants and is intended to not benefit speculators who are driving up market prices.

Hannemann also said he would use part of the estimated $120 million more generated by higher tax bills to create a reserve fund of about $40 million to protect the city's financial health.

He said the city can't afford to be too generous in givebacks because the city faces significant expenses for debt service, salaries and improving roads, sewers and other core services.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.