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22 <br /> supported the county in doing outreach in year one of the Longtime Homeowner Assistance <br /> program. She said she is grateful for the Board's efforts in trying to find solutions with them. <br /> She said that they will hear from the neighborhoods that have borne the burden of the taxation <br /> issue. She said that they have heard that residents want an increase in the award amount. She <br /> said they have also asked to consider including 80% AMI or increasing it to 60% AMI to make <br /> sure that homeowners are not left behind. She asked them to cover more than just the <br /> increase. She said that from 2000 until now, for residents who are sixty-five and up, their taxes <br /> have increased by more than 400%. She said please consider covering more than the increase. <br /> She said that the liability numbers are scary and are estimates. She said that the people here <br /> tonight are frustrated but they would not be here if they did not have hope. <br /> George Barrett was accompanied by two others who showed pictures of two different <br /> homes. He said in April 2021, the revaluation year, the neighborhoods were threatened by <br /> displacement. He said a home of 1300 square feet, owned by an elderly resident in her <br /> nineties, saw values higher than the one on the left, which are double the size, double the <br /> bedrooms, built in the early 2000s but used as student households. He said the county's <br /> system is failing because it does not consider the nuanced factors of gentrification in <br /> neighborhoods like Northside. He said through courageous organizing of the residents, these <br /> issues have been spotlighted and the assistance programs have been developed. He said the <br /> source of all of this is systemic, and they must continue to pursue systemic solutions. He said <br /> they must recognize that proposed liabilities are a hypothesis. He said 2020 and 2021 <br /> highlighted inequities that have existed for decades. He said shifting to assist the tax burden as <br /> a whole rather than just the increase year to year is an equitable step forward for solutions. <br /> Kathy Atwater said a family applied for the Longtime Homeowner Assistance Program <br /> and they were denied. She said that demonstrates that there is something wrong with the <br /> system. She said for them to have a higher tax value than the one they saw is inequitable. She <br /> said her neighbor Heather Ferrell's passion for the community let her know that they have <br /> something special in the community. She said people will leave and sell their homes if they <br /> cannot afford to pay the tax bills. She said money is going out of the county to the other <br /> counties. She said a lot of people have inherited their properties and are not able to sell and <br /> buy elsewhere for a reasonable amount. She said having property taxes go up and to not be <br /> able to stay there is not right. She said she wants to preserve it and for the longtime residents <br /> to be able to leave something for their children. She said this county has become popular, but <br /> they should recognize the people who founded it and have been here. She asked that the <br /> Board consider all of Orange County, those who are living off fixed income, pensions, so that <br /> everyone is considered. <br /> Talia Kieu said she was representing neighbors who were unable to make it to the <br /> Board meeting. She read statements from them to the Board: <br /> Clarence and Jane Fare said they have lived there for over 50 years, but the tax <br /> rate is making it very hard. She said they are in their 80s, and it gets harder <br /> every year. She said that the neighbors are saying the same thing and there are <br /> only three long term residents here and the rest are students. She said they <br /> asked for the county to please help with the tax bill. <br /> Sophie Mitchell said the county should assist with the entire tax bill and not just <br /> the county portion. She said that she lives in between two student rentals and <br /> there is no way they can afford to pay higher taxes. She said their house was <br /> bult in the early 50s and they haven't changed anything. She asked them to <br /> come into our neighborhoods and look at the different homes and to sleep on <br /> that before taking a vote. <br /> Matthew Fearrington said he has five residences on his street at Starlite Drive. He said <br /> the back of the house had a creek, which was converted into a storm drain, but when it rains, it <br />