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16 <br /> 1 Agreement on behalf of the County, and authorize the County Manager to sign any contract <br /> 2 amendments up to the maximum performance incentive amount of$100,433. <br /> 3 <br /> 4 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Chair Hamilton said the Board is pleased to support this incentive and thanked CITEL for <br /> 7 their interest in Orange County. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 6. Regular Agenda <br /> 10 a. Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) Program — Potential Addition of Funds <br /> 11 The Board received an update on application numbers and percent tax relief for the calendar year <br /> 12 2025 Longtime Homeowner Assistance (LHA) program, which assists low-income Orange County <br /> 13 homeowners with a discount or rebate on their property tax bill; and considered a potential <br /> 14 increase in funding for the current year LHA program. <br /> 15 BACKGROUND: The LHA Program was initiated in 2022 to assist longtime Orange County <br /> 16 residents with assistance for potentially burdensome property tax bills. Since then, the program <br /> 17 has expanded with annual contributions from both Chapel Hill and, newly this year, Carrboro. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 In 2025, the Orange County property tax revaluation raised property values significantly for many <br /> 20 Orange County residents, and the anticipated increase in LHA applications and approvals has <br /> 21 manifested, with nearly 60% more applications submitted than 2024, and approximately 70% <br /> 22 more approvals. In the table below, the "eligible" row is still an estimate, as staff have yet to <br /> 23 complete final processing of all applications: <br /> 24 <br /> LHA Applications Submitted <br /> 2024 2025 <br /> Number Percentage Number Percentage <br /> Eligible <br /> Applications 502 83% 850* 90% <br /> Ineligible <br /> Applications 102 17% 92 10% <br /> TOTAL 604 942 <br /> 25 <br /> 26 Staff has calculated award amounts using the following guidelines (parameters below are from <br /> 27 2024 and using 2024 amounts, these steps would remain the same for 2025 although the <br /> 28 values would change): <br /> 29 • All applicants were arranged in priority order <br /> 30 o FIRST: Tax Burden, largest to smallest <br /> 31 o SECOND: Length in Home, longest to shortest <br /> 32 o THIRD: Age, oldest to youngest <br /> 33 • Full awards were allocated to as many participants as possible using $75,000 of the <br /> 34 $250,000 available funding. <br />