Durham wants to help more Bull City homeowners pay rising tax bills

The city of Durham wants to expand a tax-relief program that helps residents pay higher tax bills caused by revitalization.

In 2019, county reappraisals raised the average tax value on a home by more than 25%, The News & Observer previously reported. Home values in neighborhoods like Southside where redevelopment occurred rose nearly 79%.

In response, the city mailed letters to residents in Southside, Northeast Central Durham and Southwest Central Durham advertising its Longtime Homeowner Grant Program. The program gives homeowners a check to cover the increase in their city taxes between 2016 and 2019. The grants do not have to be paid back.

Sixty-three applications have been received since April 2021, and the application deadline has been extended to Aug. 31.

The city program is separate from state and county tax-relief programs. Durham County also offers a property assistance tax evaluator with simplified multiple choice questions to help determine which state-wide programs residents qualify for.

Reginald Johnson, director of the city’s Community Development Department, talked with the City Council last week about expanding the city program beyond the three neighborhoods it now serves.

The City’s Attorney Office has recommended that the program expand citywide or expand in areas where city housing investment has occurred. They also advise that payments be made directly to the tax collector on behalf of the qualified applicant.

To qualify, applicants must own and have lived in their home since July of 2012 and have a household income of 80% or below the area median income.

If expanded citywide, the program could serve an estimated 19,655 homeowners, based on census data.

City council members will likely vote on the proposal in November to be adopted in 2022.

Mayor Steve Schewel suggested at last week’s meeting that instead of expanding the city program, the council ask the county to expand eligibility for its own tax relief program. The county program defers tax increases for qualifying residents for 10 years or until they sell their home, whichever is sooner.

“I am very worried about us setting up a large infrastructure program for a city-wide program, when I think by far the best thing we can do is to get [Durham] County to expand its AMI from 30% to 60%,” Schewel said. “That is what I think will take care of what we need because this will be a lift with big bureaucracy.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 5:45 AM.