RA Board Will Consider Stepped Assessment System

Reston Association is in the early stages of determining the assessment amounts for for 2017, which may for the first time include options other than a flat-rate payment.

RA members have always paid the same amount annually ($657 in 2016), whether the household is a single apartment dweller or a large family in an expensive house.

At-large director Ray Wedell appealed to fellow board members last month that it was part time to change the system to make it more fair. He compared it to real estate tax, which is paid according to the value of a property.

“This is an issue 100 percent of the people would get behind,” Wedell said at the Board’s July 28 meeting.

RA CEO Cate Fulkerson said at a special board meeting this week she has directed staff to look into the issue and report some assessment breakdown possibilities at the board’s September meeting.

Meanwhile, though, the board has been asked to look at assessment options for 2017 that remain flat-rate payments.

For 2016, the RA Board voted to move $1 million on reserves that allowed the association to raise assessments $15 (2 percent) from the previous year and keep the number well below the maximum $718 allowed by RA bylaws.

Fulkerson said there may be similar money available for 2017. She asked the board at the special meeting to consider these options:

Option 1 – Use surplus cash of $1.1 million to help fund operating expenses and repair, replacement and reserve funds. Assessments would ride by $1, to $658.

Option 2 – Use surplus cash of $1 million. Raise assessments $6, to $663.

Option 3 – Use surplus cash of $500,000. Raise assessments $30, to $687.

Option 4 – Offer no surplus cash to other funds. Raise assessments $55, to $712.

The cap for 2017 assessments is $750.

The board will discuss the options, as well as the new tiered approach, in September.

See Fulkerson’s entire budget presentation on RA’s website.