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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 14, 2026 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 2 <br /> SUBJECT: Discussion on 2026 Longtime Homeowner Assistance Program <br /> DEPARTMENT: Housing <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Presentation Blake Rosser, Housing Director, 919- <br /> 245-2130 <br /> PURPOSE: To discuss potential program changes for the 2026 cycle of the Longtime Homeowner <br /> Assistance (LHA) program, which assists low-income Orange County homeowners with a <br /> discount or rebate on their property tax bill. <br /> BACKGROUND: The LHA program has completed its 5th year of assistance for Orange County <br /> homeowners. In its first year the program assisted 91 households with the difference between <br /> their 2020 and 2021 tax bills, for a total of $16,364 allocated by Orange County. This past year, <br /> the program assisted 806 households with a formula-calculated amount based on over $500,000 <br /> in funding from Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. <br /> Over time, the program has not only grown but also changed in its emphasis, consistently looking <br /> for ways to tweak the funding formula so that the most vulnerable households are prioritized. Staff <br /> recommends the Board further refine the program policy to ensure that limited resources get to <br /> the households who most need it. <br /> To that end, staff is recommending that the Board discuss and consider raising the eligibility <br /> threshold of the program from five (5) years of homeownership to ten (10) years, with exceptions <br /> allowed for family transfers (which would be automatically granted eligibility regardless of period <br /> owning the home as long as the new family member demonstrates income eligibility).. This policy <br /> change, if it had been in effect, would have impacted 137 households in the 2025 cycle, lowering <br /> the amount of assisted households from 806 to 669, and would have allowed the program to <br /> distribute almost $62,000 more dollars to households that bought their homes prior to 2016. <br /> It should also be noted that Commissioner Earl McKee suggested at the Board's April 7, 2026 <br /> Business meeting that the Board consider a "hold harmless" provision for Orange County taxes <br /> on properties owned by residents aged 70 or older who have been in their homes for at least 20 <br /> years and earn less than 30% area median income (AMI). <br /> Based on the 2025 LHA recipients, this would impact approximately 100 households. This change <br /> could be accomplished by ensuring that these households are awarded enough LHA assistance <br />