Residents decry large property tax increases and ask county to review revaluations

Dozens of residents from multiple historically Black neighborhoods told the Orange County Board of Commissioners on June 17 that recent property revaluations produced steep increases that many said could force long-term homeowners from their homes.

Speakers described large percentage increases on individual parcels and asked the board to pursue neighborhood-level adjustments, explore changes in assessment methodology and expand anti-displacement supports.

Why it matters: Commissioners oversee the county budget and property-tax policy that affect homeowners' bills. Several speakers said the reassessment results disproportionately affected longtime, lower-income and older residents, raising equity and displacement concerns going into the new fiscal year.

Community members, led by George Barrett of the Orange County Property Tax Justice Coalition, presented a petition and a list of neighborhoods they say were hit hardest, including Councilville, Rogers Road, Pine Knolls, Cedar Grove and others. “Recent inequitable property tax valuations have caused widespread concern in our neighborhoods,” Barrett said, asking the…