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26 <br /> Commissioner Bedford said these are state projected numbers. She said that the <br /> original projection for the current year was high. She said it's not that they lost 900 students, it <br /> was that the current year projection was off. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said the numbers are consistent with what was found in October. <br /> She said one could make an argument that the county paid for students who weren't there. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that if we paid $4,387 multiplied by the projected number, <br /> then the actual per student allocation was considerably higher. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said that was correct. <br /> Chair Price asked about a bar graph on the projected budget. She asked if it is <br /> expected to level out in the current year, what happens next year. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said next year is projected to be balanced. <br /> Chair Price asked about if the living wage for temporary and permanent employees is <br /> the same. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said it will be increased 3% for both. <br /> Chair Price said there was a time with there was a difference. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said there is a classification below the living wage, but that is for <br /> the benefit of people who go through the social services system and work for the county. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked about the retirement increase. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said that was mandated by the state and is what is required from <br /> each county. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if that is because the state is giving less to retirement or is <br /> it due to projected need. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley said it is a projection of what is needed. <br /> 5. Public Hearings <br /> None. <br /> 6. Regular Agenda <br /> a. Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) Program Evaluation <br /> The Board received information about the results of the 2021 Longtime Homeowner Assistance <br /> (LHA) program and considered options for program changes for a potential continuation of the <br /> LHA program in 2022. <br /> BACKGROUND: On October 5, 2021, the Orange County Board of Commissioners authorized <br /> the program design for the Longtime Homeowner Assistance Program (LHA) to assist <br /> households affected by the 2021 property tax revaluation. LHA launched on October 8, 2021 to <br /> serve households earning no more than 80% of the area median income who had lived in their <br /> homes for at least 10 years and experienced an increase in Orange County property taxes in <br /> 2021. Between October 8 and December 15, the Housing & Community Development <br /> Department received 125 applications. Housing staff worked alongside colleagues in the Tax <br /> Office and Finance & Administrative Services Department to award $16,364 across 91 <br /> households in property tax assistance (Attachment 1). There were some very small award <br /> amounts — as low as $1.51 — and the largest award was $1,334.63. A third of the awards were <br /> under $50 and 52% of awards were under $100. <br /> In addition to the communication plan about the program presented in October, in response to <br /> requests from non-profit partners, Housing staff also organized and staffed three in-person <br /> events to help people complete LHA applications — at Piney Grove Baptist Church and Dorothy <br /> M. Johnson Community Center in Hillsborough, and Lattisville Grove Missionary Baptist Church <br /> in Cedar Grove (a planned event at the Roger Eubanks Neighborhood Association Community <br />