This story originally published online at NC Newsline.

Longstanding concerns about high property taxes displacing longtime homeowners have become a hot political issue in North Carolina—from the state legislature to county commissioner races.

At a recent forum in Orange County, county commissioner candidates were pressed on whether they would support efforts to make property tax assessments more equitable, particularly in historically Black neighborhoods.

Rev. Michael Jones told those gathered that Orange County is the third wealthiest in the state and has the resources to mitigate property tax inequities.

“We have the wealth, we talk the good talk, we do the research, but what’s missing is the political will,” Jones said.

The local pastor, who is a housing justice coordinator with the Marian Cheek Justice Center in Chapel Hill, said bold leadership is needed.

“We’re calling for accountability, and if need be, that folks might need to get fired if they can’t get the job done,” Jones said. 

African American neighborhoods in the county are systematically overassessed for property taxes while wealthier neighborhoods and luxury apartment complexes are underassessed, according to examinations conducted by the Orange County Property Tax Justice Coalition and NC Housing Coalition.

That unfairly shifts the property tax burden onto Black taxpayers, said Hudson Vaughan, director of the Community Justice Collaborative at the North Carolina Housing Coalition.

“In North Carolina all properties are supposed to be valued at their full market value at revaluation time,” Vaughan said. “However, homeowners of lower priced housing and communities of color across North Carolina, many are paying as much as twice proportionally what they should be paying.” 

Vaughan shared the example of a Black homeowner of more than 50 years in the historically Black Northside neighborhood in Chapel Hill whose two-bedroom, 1,235 square-foot house was assessed at $656,000. Nearby, a 2,900 square-foot student rental with eight or more bedrooms was assessed at $652,000—$4,000 less than the much smaller home.

The recent Orange County revaluation “drastically” shifted the burden of property taxes to historically Black neighborhoods throughout the county by several million dollars, Vaughan wrote in a recent report for the NC Housing Coalition. The inequitable increase in property values in those neighborhoods and the coinciding shift of property tax burden is not justified by market housing data or qualified sales data from Orange County compared across neighborhoods or within them, he said.

As a result of the coalition’s activism, the county reviewed 171 neighborhoods, including the African American neighborhoods the coalition identified as being overassessed, Vaughan said. All of the Black neighborhoods got adjustments, he said. 

Despite those recent adjustments, Jennie Parrish-Foushee and her brother Melvin Parrish who have lived in Chapel Hill for nearly 80 years worry about being able to remain in their birth community.

“Property values are rising fast and on paper that looks like success, but for homeowners on fixed and modest incomes, especially seniors, those rising values don’t mean we have money in our pockets,” Parrish-Foushee said. “They mean hard choices between paying our taxes or fixing a roof.”

Aging in place should not be reserved for Chapel Hill’s wealthy residents, she said.

State Lawmakers Look at ‘Reforms’

Republican leaders in both chambers of the General Assembly in recent months have created committees to review the factors contributing to rising local property taxes and to identify ways to reduce the burden on homeowners. Property taxes are set by local governments.

In December, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall created the House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform and more recently Senate Leader Phil Berger appointed a group of Senate appropriations chairs to “examine and recommend property tax reforms.” Both Hall and Berger are Republicans.

“There’s no difference to taxpayers whether a tax is paid to the state or to a local government; it’s all money coming out of their pockets,” Berger said in a statement. “These members will examine ways to provide relief from local taxes while ensuring that local revenue is used responsibly to fund core services our constituents rely on.”

As NC Newsline reported in December, some Democratic lawmakers fear cuts to income taxes or property taxes could leave state and local governments without funding for key services.

“We might completely underfund the things that we find important,” said Rep. Maria Cervania (D-Wake), a former county commissioner. “Our public schools … for my other-side colleagues, vouchers. I want us to be cognizant of the quality of life we’re building.”

State Rep. Allen Buansi, D-Orange, told NC Newsline that inadequate state funding—particularly for public schools—is forcing counties across the state to increase property taxes. 

“What we’ve been seeing over the past several years is lower and lower shares of the General Fund going to public school systems around the state and when that happens a lot of counties have to struggle to make up the difference,” Buansi said.

He said the committees appointed by the Republican leadership must have an honest discussion about property taxes, one that explores how state government can help.

Where the Orange County Commissioner Candidates Stand

A multi-racial audience representing several area churches filled the sanctuary at Mt. Zion AME Church in Hillsborough for last week’s meeting that was part candidate’s forum, church service and revival. There was a prayer to open the assembly and one to close it and a lot of amens in between.   

The coalition asked candidates to commit to:

  • Meeting with the Orange County Property Tax coalition quarterly to track progress.
  • Increasing funding to at least $1 million to prevent displacement of longtime homeowners.
  • Making the property tax assessment process equitable.
  • Ensuring the Tax Office prioritizes equity and transparency and is held accountable to those standards.
  • Dedicating $1.5 million in additional funds for “deeply affordable” homeownership for households earning 30% to 50% of area median income. 

Four of seven participating candidates agreed to all five of the coalition’s proposals. Three candidates — Democratic incumbents Jamezetta Bedford and Earl McKee and at-large Republican candidate Jeffrey Hoagland — said “no” to proposals with funding commitments.

“The reason I can’t promise all of those targeted numbers is because as a county commissioner it’s my obligation and my duty to review the budget every single spring, to look at the numbers, the needs, consider those tax increases, and balance that,” said Bedford, who is seeking reelection to District 1.

McKee, who is seeking reelection to District 2, said his “no” votes are to protect taxpayers. “I voted no because I do not want to be any part of seeing you folks get a seven cents tax increase in 2026-2027,” McKee said.

Meanwhile, Hoagland said planning to increase funding to prevent displacement of longtime homeowners is a recipe for failure.

“When you plan to increase it, that means you’ve failed,” Hoagland said. “I don’t want to run a plan that will fail … because when you already have that mindset, you’re going to fail doing something.”

Hoagland said he cannot support additional money for affordable homeownership until a definition for affordable housing has been established.

Hoagland is one two Republicans in an eight candidate field vying for three commissioner seats. Republican Louis Capitanio was not able to attend, the organizers said. Democrat Adam Beeman, an at-large candidate, attended virtually.  

Democrat Karen Stegman, an at-large commissioner candidate and former Chapel Hill Town Council member, said she supports the group’s proposals but must remain mindful of budgetary constraints.

“We need to be careful that when addressing one issue, we don’t exacerbate another by creating new expenditures that require increased taxes to pay for them,” Stegman said. 

She said local governments are in “tough budget times” due to a lack of support from state and federal governments for affordable housing, schools and healthcare.

“Local governments can only do so much to fill those gaps,” Stegman said.

Democrat Maria Palmer, a District 1 candidate, said “yes” to all five proposals. Palmer made her campaign pitch in English and Spanish, explaining that many of her Hispanic supporters are “listening” but were reluctant to come out because of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement efforts.

“I have been in all these fights with you, and we have fought together for justice in the valuation of our homes before and for money for home repairs and for affordable housing and to support the historic African American communities whose ability to live and prosper in Orange County is truly at risk,” Palmer said.

Democrat Beth Bronson, a District 2 candidate, also committed to the five proposals.

“It’s really important that we start addressing these issues and I think these commitments are a great step forward,” Bronson said. 

Rev. Cameron Barr, pastor of United Church of Chapel Hill and member of Justice United’s strategy team, told candidates that Orange County needs more leadership and fewer excuses.

“Stop telling us [Donald] Trump is president. Stop telling us that the state government is locked up. Tell us what you are going to do for us,” Barr said.

He reminded candidates of the economic struggles and racial injustice African Americans have faced for years in one of the state’s more progressive and wealthiest counties.

“I want to emphasize to you that the African-American communities in Orange County have been let down time and time again,” Barr said. “I want to emphasize to you how justified African American communities are in the feeling that, perhaps, you will not follow through on the commitments that you have made tonight.”

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