Jen Ruggles, a candidate for Hawaii County Council, says she paid a delinquent $379.44 property tax bill Thursday after a reporter inquired about missed payments during the past two years. ADVERTISING Jen Ruggles, a candidate for Hawaii County Council, says
Jen Ruggles, a candidate for Hawaii County Council, says she paid a delinquent $379.44 property tax bill Thursday after a reporter inquired about missed payments during the past two years.
The 27-year-old Mountain View resident purchased the forested 2-acre lot in Fern Acres with three siblings for $12,000 at a property tax auction in 2008, according to a tax deed and the county’s online property records.
Ruggles, who is challenging incumbent Daniel Paleka in a two-way race for the District 5 seat, said paying the tax bill for the Orchid Street property was a sibling’s responsibility and she wasn’t aware payments stopped in 2014.
“I would have never intentionally not paid taxes,” she said.
The delinquency was discovered as part of a Tribune-Herald review of council candidates’ property records. No other delinquencies were found.
The deed listed buyers as Dawn Martin, Crystal Ann O’Brien, Jennifer Lorri Ruggles and Mitchell Joseph Ruggles, who each provided an adjacent lot on Pikake Street as their residential address.
Ruggles said she lives at the Pikake Street home where she grew up.
“It was a good opportunity to own land close to our family,” she said, when asked about the purchase.
The undeveloped parcel is assessed at $20,000 and has an annual tax bill of $152.63. The $379.44 payment included penalties and interest.
While not a major debt, a two-year delinquency is enough for the property to qualify for a tax auction. The property had not been flagged for a tax sale, according to the county’s Real Property Tax Office. In comparison, the previous owner owed $1,919.40 in property taxes at the time of the 2008 auction.
Property taxes are a major funding source for the county and are expected to contribute $264.5 million in revenue for the $462.7 million 2016-17 budget.
Additionally, the Orchid Street property has a lien for unpaid fees to the Fern Acres Community Association.
A notice of lien on the property said $1,036.62 was owed to the association in 2015, according to the state’s Office of Assistant Registrar. That’s down from $1,574.69 in 2013.
Ruggles said paying the association fees was the responsibility of her father, longtime marijuana activist Michael Ruggles.
She said an association representative informed her of the missed fee payments last weekend and she planned to speak with her father about the issue.
“It’s something between him and the association,” Ruggles said.
County records show $2,125.57 owed in property taxes for the Pikake Street home Michael Ruggles jointly owns with three other people. Missed payments also started in 2014.
The association placed a lien on that property in 2014 for unpaid fees totaling $2,086.28. Another lien notice issued in 2015 said the owners owed $1,551.94.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
