Orange County Weighs Changes to Homeowner Tax Relief
The Orange County Board of Commissioners debates tightening and retargeting its Long Time Homeowners Assistance tax relief program, weighing impacts on elders, low-income residents, and current participants under rising tax bills. Commissioners hear urgent public warnings about displacement, consider delaying an assistance cap change, address a vacancy appointment process, and question selling county property below market value. 26mins
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In This Video
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Housing Director Blake Rosser presented detailed follow-up on proposed changes to the Long Time Homeowners Assistance program, including increasing the ownership requirement to ten years and adjusting the formula to prioritize long-tenured, low-income senior homeowners for greater tax relief.
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Housing Director Rosser outlined how raising the ownership threshold and expanding aid for long-tenured, low-income homeowners would be funded, raised questions about removing the $1,000 assistance cap for those households, and noted that future years might require more funding or reduced benefits for other participants.
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Commissioners asked Housing Director Rosser to clarify that the current Long Time Homeowners Assistance program has no age requirement, uses a formula based on income, home value, and ownership length, and sets eligibility at 50% of area median income.
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Orange County District Court Judge Beverly Scarlett urged commissioners to adopt a stronger longtime homeowners program to protect elders, criticized tax assessment practices that were pushing public servants and other residents out of their homes, and described extensive volunteer efforts to help homeowners avoid displacement.
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Commissioner Marilyn Carter and Housing Director Rosser discussed the financial impact of grandfathering current Long Time Homeowners Assistance participants who have owned their homes for 5–10 years, noting that most would likely reapply and that savings from changing program thresholds would materialize only gradually.
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Commissioner Phyllis Portie-Ascott asked to delay a decision on raising the $1,000 assistance cap until more data were available, while Housing Director Rosser and other commissioners agreed the cap could be revisited later but that new 10-year eligibility thresholds had to be set immediately to meet program deadlines.
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Chair Jean Hamilton and commissioners outlined the process for filling Commissioner Bedford’s vacant seat, agreeing to use the Orange County Democratic Party’s existing application and candidate forum to select a replacement within statutory deadlines.
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Commissioners approved moving forward with a property-related project on a 4–1 vote after Commissioner Portie-Ascott expressed support but questioned the county’s practice of selling property below market value and requested an additional appraisal.
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Robert Campbell voiced strong support for longtime Orange County taxpayers at risk of displacement due to property tax assessments and systemic gentrification, urged commissioners to closely oversee the tax department and visit affected communities, and the board then approved the consent item on property tax releases and refunds.
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