Agenda 05-20-25; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 1 1 1 DRAFT MINUTES 2 ORANGE COUNTY 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 4 BUSINESS MEETING 5 April 1, 2025 6 7:00 p.m. 7 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Business Meeting on Tuesday, April 1, 9 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Center in Hillsborough, NC. 10 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jamezetta Bedford, Vice-Chair Jean Hamilton 12 and Commissioners Marilyn Carter,Amy Fowler, Earl McKee, and Phyllis Portie-Ascott 13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Sally Greene 14 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT. John Roberts 15 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT. County Manager Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager Caitlin 16 Fenhagen, and Clerk to the Board Laura Jensen. (All other staff members will be identified 17 appropriately below) 18 19 Chair Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All commissioners were present 20 except Commissioner Greene. 21 22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda 23 Chair Bedford read the public charge. 24 25 Chair Bedford said that OWASA asked for the Board to approve letters of support for 26 federal funding. She suggested adding it to the agenda between items 4-c and 4-d. 27 28 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Carter, to add 29 approval of letters of support for OWASA to the agenda. 30 31 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 32 33 Travis Myren introduced the new Animal Services Director, Elizabeth Overcash, and the 34 new Community Relations Director, Wil Glenn. 35 36 2. Public Comments (Limited to One Hour) 37 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda 38 Cindy Talisman asked the Board questions about how the appeal process works. She 39 asked if someone would actually go to the property and visually inspect it. She asked why Orange 40 County does not have tax relief for senior citizens like Durham County. She said that a lot of 41 senior citizens are on fixed incomes and the increases in taxes are very hard for them. She asked 42 why the tax rate was not set before the tax valuation. She asked if building more homes and 43 revenue is not enough for them that they have to also tax their residents more. 44 Chair Bedford asked the County Manager to explain how the appeal process works. 45 Travis Myren said they will compile those questions and put out a FAQ on the website. 46 Chair Bedford asked Wil Glenn to put this information on the website. 47 Ashley Parker spoke to the Board about the revaluation process. She asked the Board to 48 make choices that reign in the spending. She said that Orange County has the highest average 49 tax rate for all 100 counties in the state. She said that there are landowners who live on land that 50 is immensely valuable land if sold but it is becoming harder to make a living as a farmer. She said 51 so many residents like her do not want to sell their property. She provided an example of the price