Agenda - 06-07-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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27 1 weeks of the program, and picked up greatly toward the end of the application period. 72.8% of 2 all received applications were approved. The most common reason for application denial was 3 the household not having a tax increase (30 denials), followed by households not owning their 4 home for ten or more years (6 denials), and the household being over income (3 denials). 5 6 Of the 91 approved applicants, 45% were white, 44% were black, 4% were multi-racial, and 1% 7 Asian. 60% of the approved applications were age 65 or over. 8 9 Staff from the three participating departments offer the following proposed program design 10 changes should the Board wish to continue the LHA program in 2022 with the remaining 11 $233,636 allocated for this purpose: 12 13 1) Change program design to cover more of the amount owed by the taxpayer. Using data 14 from the 2021 LHA program, staff proposes three options: 15 a. Institute a baseline minimum award amount: The award amount would be equal to the 16 difference between the County Tax portion of the 2020 tax bill and the 2022 tax bill, with a 17 minimum award amount of $300 (note that the average award amount for 2021 was roughly 18 $190). Estimated amount of assistance for 2022: $37,290 19 b. Base award on full bill amount: The amount will be equal to the difference between the 20 full bill amount of the 2020 tax bill and the 2022 tax bill with no minimum: $46,861 21 i. For 2021, the range of assistance $1.94 - $2,974.00, average $348 22 ii. Minimal award amounts: 56 under$300, 33 under $100, and 21 under$50 23 iii. If the minimum award amount was set at $300, the estimate would be $55,731 24 c. Standard award amount: The award amount would be a standard award amount with a 25 cap, based on approximately one-half of the average County tax portion for 2021 recipients, 26 which would result in an award amount of $830: Estimated amount of assistance for 2022: 27 $94,684 28 i. Cap the award amount so it is no more than that actual bill amount. 29 ii. This follows a similar method used by another county. 30 d. Capping tax amount based on income: Homeowners earning 80% area median income 31 (AMI) or under pay no more than 3% of income on total property tax bill. Estimated amount of 32 assistance for 2022: $176,587 33 e. Awards cover half of total tax bill: Award would cover half of total tax bill for homeowners 34 earning 80% AMI or under, up to these total amounts: 35 i. $1000.00 for households with incomes <_ 61- 80% AMI 36 ii. $1250.00 for households with incomes <_ 31- 60% AMI 37 iii. $1500.00 for households with incomes <_ 30%- below AMI 38 iv. The amount of assistance that may be granted for this option will vary based on the level 39 of income of the applicants. Assuming a 50% increase in the number of applicants, an 40 estimated range is $169,123 to $243,454. 41 42 2) Adjust program operation dates to August 1 through December 1, 2022. This would start 43 the program two months earlier, immediately following when homeowners receive property tax 44 notices in July. It would also move the deadline back by two weeks which will allow staff 45 additional needed time for application processing, which was a challenge in 2021. 46 3) Include an informational insert with the tax assistance application packet, with the goal 47 of both increasing awareness about LHA and making the process of applying for all assistance 48 programs simpler for taxpayers. 49 4) Formalize policy for heirs' properties where there are more than one person/households 50 listed on the deed. Staff recommends considering the 10 year occupancy requirement based on 51 the amount of time the property has remained within the family (rather than current owners who