Reston Association has solidified a new budget for the coming year, approving funding for some new projects while cutting back on swimming pool hours.
The association’s board of directors voted 7-2 at its Nov. 13 meeting to adopt a $24 million budget for 2026 based on a new annual member assessment rate of $890.
While that’s 5% higher than the current rate of $848, it isn’t as drastic as what RA staff initially proposed. When releasing a first draft of the budget in August, Chief Financial Officer Ed Vroom told the board that assessment increases are needed in the coming years to keep up with inflation and rising capital project costs.
To reduce the assessment increase, the RA board opted to cut $175,000 from the swimming pool budget, bringing operating hours closer to the 2024 schedule.
Last year was the first time in half a decade that all 15 pools were open and operating. After a 2023 community survey identified concerns about the existing length and hours for its aquatics season, RA devoted $207,000 in its budget to provide an additional 1,400 hours in 2025, reducing scheduled closures and keeping more pools open later in the summer.
Pointing to the community survey as evidence that members of the homeowners’ association want to see it invest in pools, at-large director John Farrell voted against the proposed assessment and budget in part because of it “substantially” reduces the availability of the pools.
“Our community survey was very clear. Our members value our swimming pools more than any other single feature after our trails,” Farrell said. “We finally last year got to a point where we weren’t closing any pools. That’s where we should be because that’s where our membership wants us to be … We’re ignoring their desires, and for that reason, I cannot support this budget.”
Director Margaret Perry, who represents apartment owners, voted in favor of adopting the budget but noted she was “very disappointed” that the board decided to reduce the pool hours at its previous meeting on Oct. 23.
“I am very disappointed in us as a whole for not having recognized what our members had asked for and wanted,” she said.
Despite the increase in hours, though, overall pool visits actually declined this year, with data through Sept. 1 showing approximately 20,000 fewer visits than in 2024.
“The community survey does say pools are a main character of Reston, and we are supportive of that,” said RA Board Vice President Izzy Santa, an at-large director. “But as our fiduciary duty, I also understand that when you spend more and there’s less of an output, then it’s on us to recalibrate, and this budget does that.”
South Lakes District Director Jennifer Jushchuk sided with Farrell in opposing the adjusted assessment rate.
Among other items, the approved budget also pulled back on funding for select capital projects, information technology modernization efforts, hydrilla control, and staff pay, with planned merit-based raises dropping from 4% to 3.2%, according to board documents.
The affected capital projects include additional improvements at the Hook Road Recreation Area. Construction to update the baseball field and add a concrete sidewalk began in August, but a second phase of renovations that would extend the walking path and install a permanent restroom has now been deferred to 2027.
The board also bumped $185,000 to fund tot lots at Lake Anne Park and Lake Newport to 2028.
The decision to reducing funds for hydrilla control by $25,000 reflected the board’s expectations that Fairfax County will share some of the costs, according to minutes from the Oct. 9 work session.
RA will hold a virtual town hall on Monday (Dec. 1) to gather community feedback on how to deal with the invasive plant, which resurfaced at Lake Thoreau this summer.
Even as it approved cuts, the RA board still found room in the budget to support projects requested or backed by member feedback, including new water filling stations at Lake Thoreau and Lake Audubon, infrastructure repairs at Uplands Pool and a trail relocation at Upper Lakes Drive.
The association will also introduce an option in 2026 for members to automatically renew their recreation passes when paying their annual assessment, according to a press release.
“This budget is about more than numbers — it’s about delivering value to our members,” RA CEO Mac Cummins said in the release. “From reinvesting in our facilities and protecting our natural resources to continuing a legacy of community events, we’re capitalizing on what matters most to the community.”
