Reston Association members could face another assessment hike in the new year, but on the plus side, the increase might be the smallest since 2021.
RA CEO Peter Lusk proposed raising the annual fee paid by members of the homeowners’ association to $900 — a $10 or 1.1% increase from the current rate of $890 — to support a draft 2027 budget presented to the board of directors last Thursday (Oct. 8).
In comparison, the 2026 rate represented a 5% increase from the 2025 assessment of $848. RA staff had suggested an even larger hike to address inflation and climbing capital project costs, but the board ultimately opted to mitigate the increase by reducing swimming pool hours.
“First thing that people say, ‘Wow, that’s not very much,’ and some people were concerned that’s a little too low,” RA Chief Financial Officer Ed Vroom said. “And what allowed us to keep it relatively low is that we did have a number of efficiencies.”
In response to a board directive to reduce operating expenses by 2-3%, staff have proposed eliminating RA’s chief operating officer role, a position that Lusk had filled since 2023 until his appointment as the permanent CEO in July. No longer employing a COO will save $270,000, according to a staff memo, which noted that the amount is not equivalent to the position’s salary.
The association also anticipates saving approximately $100,000 in printing and postage costs by shifting to a digital activities guide, though a small number of paper copies will still be provided by RA’s member services team at its headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive).
Other proposed reductions include changes to the aquatics staffing model to trim overtime costs, cuts to seasonal human resources and information technology staff, and revisions to the capital improvement program (CIP) that allow RA to cut the funding needed from member assessments by $400,000.
At the same time, the proposed budget adds funding to support staff pay raises and cover increased costs for benefits, insurance, inflation and utilities, specifically water and electricity costs. It also adds $50,000 for tree maintenance and removal work and $7,500 for a planned study of the sediment in RA’s artificial lakes.
“The study will assist staff in understanding the nature of our sediment and its potential effect on seasonal cyanobacteria and blue-green algae blooms,” RA staff said in the memo for the board meeting.
Vroom noted that more members have been paying their assessments on time, leading to a slight drop in revenue from fewer late fees.
Separately, costs for Reston Camps are up, primarily due to the addition of more weeks for art, mini day and tennis camps.
“We do believe that this budget will enable the association to continue to operate and maintain its facilities, make some improvements to them and operate our programs and services,” Vroom said. “So, we believe that this is a budget that will allow us to be successful.”
Margaret Perry, who represents apartment owners on the RA board, said she approved of only planning a 1% assessment increase but sought reassurance that it won’t lead to a much bigger increase down the road.
RA’s five-year forecast projects a 6% increase of the assessment to $954 for 2028, but Vroom said that doesn’t take into account investment earnings and additional “efficiencies” that staff hopes to identify over the next year.
“I would rather take smaller-chunk hits than larger hits,” Perry said, suggesting she would prefer to see more consistent increases.
South Lakes District Director Jennifer Jushchuk lamented that pool visits dipped. According to an evaluation of this summer’s pool season, RA’s 15 pools drew 102,326 visits in 2026, down from 119,456 visits in 2025 despite more recreation passes being distributed. The pools were open for about 200 fewer hours.
“Please go enjoy the pools,” Jushchuk urged members. “We all as a community put a fair number a fair amount of money into them, and I want to see community members out there using them. I want to see people learning to swim. Please, please go enjoy them.”
Multiple board members thanked Lusk and his team for their work on the budget, which was developed on an earlier timeline than in past years that typically culminated in an adoption in late November. This time, the board of directors is slated to formally approve the 2027 budget at its next meeting on Oct. 22.
