Minutes - 19870415 - Laserfiche WebLink

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j ti Commissioner Carey emphasized that the bill will not produce ~ -~ enough revenue to enable the County to address the major capital needs of the County. He suggested placing a maximum floor with the flexibility of choosing an amount up to that maximum. Chair Marshall described a situation in which the original purchaser pays the tax and the developer pays nothing and noted that setting a floor does not represent fairness in the bill. Commissioner Halkiotis spoke in support of not setting a floor in the bill. hermit Lloyd suggested that a cap, if one is used, be tied to the present amount of the Homestead Exemption for only those properties that presently qualify for this exemption. This would have a small eroding effect'on the purpose of the bill because very few of the elderly or handicapped ever sell their property. There was a consensus that this is a good suggestion and one that should be pursued. Commissioner Hartwell expressed concern with not setting a floor stating that this additional cost would be a burden to many of the first time homebuyers. Commissioner Willhoit~suggested putting aside a specific amount of income from this bill into a first time buyers low interest loan pool. Chapel Hill Town Manager David Taylor reported that the .City Council did on Monday evening adopt a resolution in support of the real _ estate transfer tax. He commented on the issue of the floor stating that the exemption that corresponds to and directly correlates with the Homestead Exemption is good but encouraged the Board to not try to solve the affordable housing problem with this bill. Any kind of floor not tied to the Homestead Exemption will cause sellers and buyers to get together and do things they would not ordinarily do. He encouraged the Board to not put a floor in the bill. with reference to the -~ distribution method, the point of origin would be the most advantageous to Chapel Hi11. It may be well to write into the bill that the money ..:` will be allocated one half on the point of origin and one half on per capita basis. Motion was made by Commissioner willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to request the necessary legislation for the Land Transfer Tax, to set the floor as the same amount of the Homestead Exemption, to remove the reference to non-profit organizations, to state that municipalities may participate by opting in, to indicate that the proceeds will be shared with the municipalities on a 50~ by population and 50~ by point of origin basis and to approve the resolution as stated below: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RESOLUTION NORTH CAROLINA - ORANGE COUNTY WHEREAS Orange County and the municipalities in orange County have experiences and expect to continue to experience rapid growth which has and will continue to have tremendous impacts on the demand for capital improvements to the public facilities of Orange County including its roads, its recreation facilities, its need for public housing, its schools, its courts, its jails, its libraries, and its other public facilities; and WHEREAS an excise transfer tax levied on the transfer of real property in Orange County which tax would be shared by the municipal- ities within Orange County would have a just and equitable relationship to the increased capital needs of the county and the municipalities within the county. caused by rapid growth; and WHEREAS the attached bill to be entitled AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE ORANGE COUNTY TO LEVY AN EXCISE TAX ON INSTRUMENTS CONVEYING REAL PROPERTY IN