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21 <br /> • The Tax Office included an LHA program information flyer alongside the 2025 tax bills that <br /> were mailed in August 2025. <br /> • County staff worked with community partners including the Jackson Center, Homeowners <br /> United, and Justice United to promote the LHA program. <br /> • Staff organized visits to local churches, and the Rogers Road and Cedar Grove <br /> Community Centers to complete LHA applications and distribute LHA flyers. <br /> • Staff partnered with church congregations in Orange County, including in northern <br /> Orange, to share information. <br /> • Staff emailed prior applicants to remind residents that they must apply every year to <br /> receive an award. <br /> • Staff coordinated with the Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board to host a <br /> community meeting with more than 50 residents, including opportunities to complete or <br /> submit an application in person. <br /> Similar to 2024, advertisements were not placed in area newspapers. This saved the County more <br /> than $10,000 in administrative costs and did not appear to impact the accessibility of the program. <br /> The number of applications increased from 2024 to 2025 by 58%, from 604 to 955 applicants. <br /> Staff calculated award amounts using the following guidelines: <br /> • All applicants were arranged in priority order <br /> o FIRST: Tax Burden, largest to smallest <br /> o SECOND: Length in Home, longest to shortest <br /> o THIRD: Age, oldest to youngest <br /> • Staff determined a multiplying factor for the remaining $377,805 in available funding and <br /> used this to reduce all other awards by the same percentage. <br /> • All eligible homeowners received a minimum award amount of $200 or up to the full <br /> amount of the County portion of their tax bill if it was less than $200. <br /> • Award amounts were the County portion of the tax bill less 2%of the applicant's household <br /> income. <br /> Between August 1 and November 3, 2025, the County received 955 applications and awarded <br /> $509,804 (including $86,999 in Chapel Hill supplemental funding and $45,000 in Carrboro <br /> supplemental funding). The minimum award amount was $200. The average award amount for <br /> recipients was $491.97, and the median award amount was $432.70. This award amount will <br /> increase slightly in the coming weeks, as staff must still apply the $18,720 that the Board added <br /> to program funds as part of discussion in December 2025 and a budget amendment in January <br /> 2026. A second round of supplemental checks will be sent out to applicable homeowners. <br /> LHA Applications Submitted <br /> 2024 2025 <br /> Number Percentage Number Percentage <br /> Eligible <br /> Applications 502 83% 805 84% <br /> Ineligible <br /> Applications 102 17% 149 16% <br /> TOTAL 604 954 <br />