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

Browse Search

39 1 Church. We even went door-to-door, ourselves, in the Piney Grove neighborhood 2 with Piney Grove church members, to spread the word. 3 We understand the Commissioners are receiving the Staff program evaluation 4 and options for the first time tonight -- thank you for honoring our collective 5 request for a delay to allow for more community feedback. 6 Tonight, residents will be attending to hear Commissioners' responses to the 7 County staff evaluation. A few members will speak, with the intention of 8 continuing and strengthening an ongoing collaboration between County 9 Commissioners, staff, and community stakeholders, to address the inequities of 10 the tax burden, together. 11 The Affordable Housing team listed the following points as important: 12 1) The Jackson Center and Compass Group, EmPOWERMENT, Inc., Fairview 13 residents, and member groups of Orange County Justice United have connected 14 around a shared, countywide priority of addressing the inequitable property tax 15 burden. 16 2) As you know, the Longtime Homeowners Assistance program exists in the 17 context of inequitable property tax valuations, as well as an unfair tax burden: 18 residents with lower incomes have to pay a higher ratio of property taxes in 19 comparison to what they would actually make if they sold their home than 20 wealthier residents. The Longtime Homeowners Assistance program doesn't 21 resolve the inequity, but we recognized that it is an important attempt to lessen 22 some of the negative impact. 23 3) Given this inequity, we believe it is important for the program to at least have 24 maximum benefit for the most people. 25 4) In that vein, we most strongly support option 1 e), which would have the 26 potentially highest benefit for most people, and is also what Durham County is 27 likely about to adopt -- and was recommended by Durham Department of Social 28 Services. Durham County has expressed support of having a consistent, 29 coordinated approach to property tax relief across the Triangle. 30 1 e). Awards cover half of total tax bill: Award would cover half of total tax bill for 31 homeowners earning 80% AMI or under, up to these total amounts: 32 i. $ 1000. 00 for households with incomes < 61- 80% AMI 33 ii. $ 1250. 00 for households with incomes < 31- 60% AMI 34 iii. $ 1500. 00 for households with incomes < 30%- below AMI 35 iv. The amount of assistance that may be granted for this option will vary 36 based on the level of income of the applicants. Assuming a 50% increase in 37 the number of applicants, an estimated range is $169, 123 to $243,454. 38 4) In any case, we recommend going with property tax award criteria that would 39 provide the most benefit to most people -- options 1 c), 1 d), and 1 e) are the 40 three options estimated by County staff to provide the most benefit. 41 5) We also emphasize the importance of reducing the years of residence from 10 42 to 5. Even longtime homeowners in historical and gentrifying neighborhoods 43 expressed strong support for this change, to lower barriers to access. It's also 44 important to keep in mind that many residents did live in their homes for decades, 45 were pressured to leave, and then moved back thanks to community efforts -- but 46 may have been back fewer than 5 years. 47 6) Finally, we emphasize the need for greatly increased outreach, as County staff 48 recommended -- including program announcement with tax bill and working with 49 community partners in all parts of the County (including Hillsborough and 50 Northern Orange) in advance to do outreach.