Two important opportunities for action this week:

1) We were just alerted to the importance of attending the County budget vote tomorrow, June 17, at 7 pm, at the Southern Human Services Center (2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514). This is a final chance this budget season to ensure our priority -- of preventing displacement and preserving existing affordable housing -- remains high-profile.

2) Read and sign on to the Community Letter to the Board of County Commissioners by 5 pm tomorrow, Tues., June 17. The letter proposes critical actions for the County to take to prevent displacement of historically Black neighborhoods. Text below. The letter is on the website of the Jackson Center, a member of the Property Tax Justice Coalition that Justice United is organizing with. It's  #4 on the web page (scroll down): https://jacksoncenter.info/property_tax_inequities/

Text of the letter:

Dear Orange County Tax Officials and County Commissioners,

We write as community members, neighbors, and stewards of homes that carry not just financial value, but deep roots, stories, and legacies. Recent inequitable property tax revaluations have caused widespread concern across our neighborhoods, including:
- Councilville
- Northside
- Rogers Road
- Pine Knolls & Tin Top
- Cedar Grove
- Piney Grove
- Fairview
- Mars Hill
- Davie/Glosson Circle
- Perry Hill

Many of us have seen dramatic increases in property valuations that outpace both real market trends and the lived realities of our communities. These increases are not felt equally. Longtime residents—many of whom are elders, on fixed incomes, or part of historically underrepresented groups—face the possibility of being priced out of homes we have spent generations building and protecting.  

Meanwhile, we see that “market value” has a different meaning when applied to other communities.  The new assessed values fall well-under the market in wealthier neighborhoods like the Oaks, Southern Village, and Boundary Street, shifting the increased property tax burden onto the backs of those of us who have already carried so much. In fact, all of our neighborhoods will see 25-80% increases in our property taxes – over $2 million total in increased taxes – even if you choose a “revenue neutral rate.” At the same time, the multi-million dollar homes on Tenney Circle and Cameron/McCauley will see their property taxes decrease on average despite having homes sell for nearly double the tax value the last two years. And the ten highest price luxury apartment complexes will see their property taxes fall by over $1.1 million after charging skyrocketing rates the last four years even before, as expected, they appeal for even less.

We urgently and respectfully ask that you urge the tax office to:

1) Work with the Orange County Property Tax Justice Coalition to present the identified neighborhood inequities to the Board of Equalization and Review to consider the evidence for neighborhood adjustments (for both overvalued and undervalued properties), lot value changes, and any other measures allowed by state law to improve the fairness of the current valuation.

2) Urgently undertake a fair re-assessment of the communities named above in order to make neighborhood-wide adjustments to the 2025 revaluation that addresses the inequities in land values and vertical equity within our neighborhoods.

3) Correct undervalued luxury apartment buildings that should carry a fair share of the property tax burden.

4) Integrate well-documented mass assessment tools into future revaluations that seek to ensure vertical equity and fairness in valuation that could help prevent regressivity, including but not limited to: price related differential (prd), price related bias (prb), sales quartile and decile over/under assessment, sales ratio studies focused on the equity of land values in Orange County, and application of additional depreciation for homes that had a market rate sale in over 20 years. The tax office should build the capacity to do this, not outsource it to outside consultants.

5) Improve the fairness of land values: Work with the School of Government, the NC Housing Coalition, and other subject matter experts to review the tax office’s evidence for assigning current land values, to analyze the equity of existing land value adjustments, to ensure understanding of developable lot capability when assigning and distributing land values, and to identify tools that help ensure equitable land allocation and valuation across heterogenous neighborhoods that do not have sufficient vacant lot sales.

6) Significantly increase funding for anti-displacement support in next year’s budget that includes the Long-Time Homeowners Assistance Fund, funding for home repairs, and support for efforts by non-profits and leadership of affected historically Black neighborhoods to prevent displacement due to unjust tax inequities.

This is not just about taxes—it is about the right to remain. As you well know, the documented inequities will displace residents. We aim to honor the people who have held this County together and ensure that policy upholds the dignity, stability, and generational continuity of our neighborhoods.

We know this work is complex, and we appreciate your service and your commitment to fairness. We urge you to take action that puts people first and keeps Orange County a place where all of us can belong.

With respect and resolve, 

[Your Name]