Agenda 09-04-2025; 8-a - Minutes for the July 8, 2025 Business Meeting

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24 1 Horace Johnson said there are community members who are really suffering and are 2 upset. He said that the valuations are unfair and that things need to change. He requested a 3 meeting with the community and Board of Commissioners to discuss these issues. 4 Hudson Vaughn said he is from the North Carolina Housing Coalition. He said that four 5 years ago, Northside neighbors rose up and were told again and again by the county's Tax 6 Office that the values were fair and equitable. He said after a broad-based advocacy effort, the 7 neighborhood was corrected. He said that statistical pieces are complex, but neighbors know a 8 lot about their neighborhoods and their information is critical for data collection and analysis. He 9 said the NC Housing Coalition worked with communities across several counties supporting 10 appeals and helping provide analysis for neighborhood wide adjustments. He said North 11 Carolina's largest county made five neighborhood adjustments with their data analysis despite 12 the fact that they used all these tools and are the best in the state at equity in every national 13 study. He said vertical equity is not enough to address the problems. He said the Tax Office is 14 attempting to prove whether or not there is a problem, not to solve and pinpoint problems. He 15 said that Black communities with 3 times the increase in value compared to white communities 16 with the same market increase. He said that Orange County Tax Office rejected more evidence- 17 based appeals from long term neighbors than his coalition experienced in entire county-wide 18 efforts in other counties. He said the county has powers to correct this. 19 William Gattis said that this is what happens when you intellectualize a process. He said 20 other traditional black areas in Chapel Hill have not been considered. He said property 21 managers have purchased property in these areas and they do not have a vested interest in the 22 community. He said they are the ones driving up values. He said his home needs many 23 renovations, but he can't get a loan to improve it because it does not have a dedicated road. He 24 said the Tax Office said his home is worth more than other homes with more bedrooms and 25 bathrooms. 26 Robert Campbell said the Rogers Road Community Center has received calls for help 27 for several things this week during the storm, but they also received calls requesting help for 28 property taxes. He gave examples of older homes that are valued higher than newer, bigger 29 homes. He said they are being charged for what's going to happen in the future. He said they 30 are experiencing taxation without benefits. 31 Regina Merritt said no one has visited her neighborhood of Councilville and you can't 32 make a fair assessment if you don't go see the properties. She said that people are moving 33 here from other places with higher incomes and are raising property values. She said her 34 community helped build UNC and it has grown in ways that she has not expected. She said 35 that it is not fair the way they are being treated. She said that people should come into the 36 neighborhoods and see the properties. She asked the commissioners to think about adopting 37 some of Commissioner McKee's suggestions. 38 Christina Abernethy said she is with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and a resident of 39 Carrboro. She said she lives in a historically black neighborhood. She asked the 40 commissioners to consider the appeals were denied supposedly due to lack of evidence, but 41 also to consider the appeals that were not adjusted significantly. She said that she submitted 42 evidence for some appeals that were denied. 43 Michael Jones said he is a community advocacy specialist for the Marian Cheek 44 Jackson Center. He said it was a slap in the face to say that appeals were presented without 45 evidence. He said that community members feel they are not being heard. He said people are 46 concerned about the July 30th deadline. 47 Maria Palmer said the presentation was justifying a system that has been shown to be 48 unfair by using a lot of math and a lot of big group statistics. She said she did not understand 49 and it and suggested that most of the commissioners did not understand it. She said the only 50 way that it makes sense is if you think it's ok to replace residents with rich folks who can afford 51 expensive houses and expensive taxes. She said that the people who presented are