After weeks of outrage from Honolulu homeowners hit by soaring property assessments, the mayor and the City Council agree that property tax relief is needed this year.

"We all recognize that we have to do something," said Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said council members have been working on property tax relief for more than a year.

"Every council member is committed to some form of tax relief," Dela Cruz said.

Now they need to figure out how to ease the tax bite while still providing core city services.

Hannemann, a majority of council members and some private citizens have come up with a variety of proposals. Dela Cruz said he expects the final tax relief to combine some of those proposals.

While the record-breaking real-estate market sent assessments skyrocketing, homeowners with no plans to cash in on that boom have nonetheless watched their tax bills double and triple over the past five years. And they're calling politicians and writing letters to complain.

But they're also coming together, sharing their horror stories, organizing and making their voices heard in a sustained wave that hasn't subsided since homeowners began receiving their assessment notices in midDecember.

More than 50 people showed up at a citizens meeting Thursday in Kailua to talk about tax relief and search for answers. A hand-lettered sign in the room urged: "Let them know how angry you are."

Councilman Charles Djou called the outcry the "beginning of a taxpayer revolt."

City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi pointed to a St. Louis Heights woman in her 80s who has lived most of her life in the same house and plans to stay there.

Now she's facing a bill of $2,000 that she must pay even though she earns just $13,000 annually.

"Every year it's been going up," Kobayashi said. "Enough, already."

She said the council stands ready to trim the budget further to reduce the tax hit for residents.

Hannemann said he is urging the council to give back $40 million to homeowners in some form of tax credit this year. To provide longer-term relief, he proposes a new tax classification for homeowner occupants so they could receive a preferential rate over other categories.

Hannemann noted that all other Hawai'i counties have such a classification. That could allow city officials to reduce the present $3.75 per $1,000 valuation to $3 per $1,000 valuation for homeowners and make up the difference in revenue by increasing the rate for other residential categories, he said.

He dropped an earlier proposal for a $200 tax credit for people 62 and older. And he has reduced his call for a $50 million "rainy-day fund" to $20 million. But Hannemann said that fund is essential for long-term fiscal stability.

A $20 million rainy-day fund probably will need to be reduced further, Kobayashi said. "Why should people have to take money out of their savings so the city can put money in their savings?" she asked.

Windward Councilwoman Barbara Marshall got things started in mid-December when she introduced a resolution urging Hannemann to lower residential tax rates and review how properties are assessed.

Marshall said she's heard twice as many complaints from residents this year — sometimes dozens a day — with many telling her that their taxes have shot up 400 percent in five years.

"It's just out of hand," she said. "That's really too much, too soon."

Councilman Todd Apo also signed the resolution.

The Property Tax Relief Now citizens group rallied Thursday night in Kailua, drawing Marshall, several Neighborhood Board members and dozens of frustrated residents.

The grassroots group wants the city to reduce future tax rates to bring in the same amount of revenue as in the last tax collection, and has started a petition drive.

Jim and Svetlana Filippone drove across the island from 'Ewa Beach for the meeting.

The Filippones said they paid $466,000 on Oct. 26 for their four-bedroom home and just received an assessment for $518,000, which was supposed to be pegged at October values. They sold a nearby home to buy this bigger one, but now they wish they hadn't.

"We have to budget our money," Jim Filippone said. He is in construction and she's starting out in real estate, both of which are cyclical businesses. The uncertainty over rising taxes means that they have indefinitely postponed starting a family, they said.

"Our life is not secure," Svetlana Filippone said.

Councilman Djou said people are fed up with the increasing cost of government and want relief now.

Djou, who said he's proud to have voted against all tax and fee increases that have come before the council, said he sees the mood for change.

"I think we've reached the tipping point," he said. He said he is pleased to hear talk of paring the budget. "I'm just tickled pink that the discussion has turned to cutting," he said.

Hannemann said he has to pay the bills for a variety of fixed government costs, including debt and salaries, as well as preparing for the unknown, so he is cautious about giving back too much too soon.

"We have fixed costs beyond our control," he said. "You've got to save. That's what the last administration never did."

Hannemann said he understands that voters are upset, but that he has to balance an ability to pay for city services that residents rely on each year. "We can't be so quick to give away everything," he said.

Hannemann said he wants the council and residents to help determine which services can be trimmed to save money. "What can you do without?" he asked.

Kobayashi said she believes the council will cut a skate park here or there, reject new projects and focus on public safety.