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12 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Bedford, to <br /> 3 approve a resolution authorizing approval of the proposed lease agreement and economic <br /> 4 incentive agreement, with claw-back provisions, for the expansion of Well Dot, Inc.'s health care <br /> 5 IT operations in Orange County, NC, with the amended language as discussed. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 8 <br /> 9 <br /> 10 6. Regular Agenda <br /> 11 a. Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) Additional Information <br /> 12 The Board received information and considered options for the LHA program in 2022. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 BACKGROUND: On May 3, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners reauthorized and <br /> 15 approved the following changes to the Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) program for <br /> 16 2022: <br /> 17 • Adjust program operation dates to August 1 through December 1, 2022. <br /> 18 • Include an informational insert with the tax assistance application packet and increase <br /> 19 awareness about LHA. <br /> 20 • Formalized the LHA policy for heirs' properties where there are more than one <br /> 21 person/households listed on the deed. <br /> 22 • Formalized the policy for Family Trust owned properties. <br /> 23 • Require that the applicant provide a copy of the targeted tax bill. <br /> 24 • Reduce the requirement to have owned and lived in the home for 10 years to 5 years to <br /> 25 increase access to the program. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Staff plans to add this or a similar clarifying statement to the informational insert: If you received <br /> 28 assistance from this program on your 2021 tax bill, you DO NEED TO APPLY again to qualify <br /> 29 for assistance on your 2022 tax bill. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 Staff offers the following information regarding a change program design that would cover more <br /> 32 of the amount owed by the taxpayer. Using data from the 2021 LHA program, the American <br /> 33 Community Survey, the FY22 Area Median Income for Orange County, staff is providing more <br /> 34 detailed estimates for options. <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Additional Information: <br /> 37 • Currently 913 properties in Orange County are receiving the Homestead Exemption or <br /> 38 another type of low-income assistance. <br /> 39 • The Tax Office found 20,009 owner-occupied residential properties in Orange County <br /> 40 that have been owned for 5 or more years who will likely have an increase in the County <br /> 41 portion of the tax bill as compared to their 2020 tax bills (base year). <br /> 42 • In comparison, the Tax Office previously identified 9,704 residential properties that have <br /> 43 been owned for 10 or more years. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 1. Institute a baseline minimum award amount: The award amount would be equal to the <br /> 46 difference between the County Tax portion of the 2020 tax bill and the estimated 2022 tax <br /> 47 bill, with a minimum award amount of $300 (note that the average award amount for 2021 <br /> 48 was roughly $190). <br /> 49 For the 20,009 residential properties owned for 5+ years who will have increases in the <br /> 50 County portion of their 2022 tax bill, the average County tax portion is $2,954. <br />