Agenda - 09-06-2022; 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

21 1 Chair Price said that she is afraid people are still getting left out. She said that the issue 2 is still present, that people's properties are valued too high for them to afford the taxes. She 3 said this was one of the concerns of the Chapel Hill neighborhoods and the rural areas. She 4 said properties are not valued the way they should be. She said that one problem in Chapel Hill 5 is the students of the university living in the same neighborhoods as single-family homes and 6 there are properties in other areas of Orange County that have never been assessed in a while. 7 She said that she would like to have this investigated and make sure that properties are being 8 fairly assessed. 9 Commissioner Hamilton thanked the Tax Assessor for the information. She said it 10 helped her get an understanding of the size of the program. She said even though they are 11 estimates it was still a better grasp on the number than they have had in the past. She said that 12 the program must be sustainable. She said that it does not make sense to offer it for one year 13 and then not. She said they should do $250,000 for the first year, even if that means taking 14 more from ARPA, and be thinking long term about taking it out of general revenues. She said 15 that given the magnitude they should go back and do to 10 years. She said that this will 16 guarantee that long term homeowners are protected. She said that there are two issues. She 17 said one is there is an issue with how properties are appraised and valued, and the larger issue 18 is the tax burden on low-income people in the community. She asked what they are going to do 19 to help low-income residents get relief on the taxes. She said that she supports staff coming 20 back with some needs-based factors because she wants to make sure that the people that need 21 the money, get the money. 22 23 PUBLIC COMMENT: 24 25 Heather Ferrell said she lives in the Northside neighborhood of Chapel Hill. She said 26 she is trying to make sense of the numbers. She said the total liability is a large number and is 27 confusing. She said she wanted to talk about the Northside neighborhood. She said the 28 neighborhood is not designated historical, but it is historical because of the families that have 29 lived there for over one hundred years. She said these are the families that are being harmed 30 by the unfair valuations and the tax burden. She said the neighborhood is up against an influx of 31 investment properties. She asked the Board to do what they can to help. She said that the 32 community is a special place to live. She said that it is hard to watch a $2 million incentive for a 33 private company, and they need to value community history at the same level as economic 34 development. 35 Horace Johnson thanked the Board for their comments on the recent shootings in 36 Buffalo and Texas. He said he came to talk about those that have been disproportionately 37 impacted by the pandemic but changed his mind when he heard the presentation by Well Dot. 38 He said that typically, governments put too much effort on attracting outside businesses but fail 39 to grow the local assets. He mentioned the opportunity zones and that they are determined by 40 political interest. He said they fail to prioritize community leadership. He said that place based 41 policies fall short because they are rarely centered around racial equity. He asked the Board 42 two questions. He asked if the Board would become galvanized in their efforts to save these 43 historical neighborhoods with tax assistance for all or will the Board be remembered for being 44 complicit in further assisting the eradication and gentrification of those historical neighborhoods. 45 He said that history will record everything the Board decides on this matter. He asked where will 46 people go? He asked the Board to please give that some thought. 47 Christine Abernethy, Director of Housing Justice at Marian Cheek Jackson Center. She 48 said that they have been running a tax support program for about five years. She said they also 49 supported the county in doing outreach in year one of the Longtime Homeowner Assistance 50 program. She said she is grateful for the Board's efforts in trying to find solutions with them. 51 She said that they will hear from the neighborhoods that have borne the burden of the taxation