The Reston Association Board Planning Committee will recommend to the Board of Directors that it consider setting a 50 percent assessment rate reduction for members who receive real estate tax relief from Fairfax County. The full board will review the budget resolution at its next regular meeting/public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Reductions in annual assessment fees for residents who qualify for real estate tax relief have always existed within RA. However, no specific percentage rate for those reductions is stated in the Reston Deed. Reductions have arbitrarily hovered at approximately 50 percent of the general assessment paid by the vast majority of RA members in recent years. The proposal that will be brought to the board in November will simply specify the exact reduction rate, setting it at 50 percent of the $642 general assessment rate.
Approximately 450 out of the 17,000 residential units in Reston are projected to receive county tax relief in 2015 and therefore would qualify for the 50 percent reduction.
Additionally, there are projected to be approximately 120 residential units in Reston with real estate values at or below $128,400 that currently are charged assessments at 0.5 percent of property value. No changes are proposed for properties that fall into this category, nor are there plans related to the redistribution or restructuring of how assessments are levied.
Two other RA residential groups currently receive $10 assessment reductions with no changes proposed for 2015. They include:
- State or federally subsidized apartment units.
- Housing for the elderly and/or assisted living facilities.
The Board Planning Committee heard comments from members about the assessment issue on Monday, Nov. 3 and decided to move forward with the proposal.
"We appreciate the public coming to the committee meeting and encourage members to attend the public hearing in November," said the association's CEO, Cate Fulkerson. "The goal is to have an ongoing, community-wide discussion about the annual assessment. Over the short and long terms, it is essential for RA to hear from its members about changes they would like to see in the way assessments are determined."
Fulkerson went on to say that more significant, wide-ranging changes to the assessment structure - such as pro-rating assessments based entirely on real estate value -- would have to go to a referendum. "The board can't act independently on how assessments are determined."
With the few exceptions outlined above, RA uses a flat-rate system that charges all homeowners the same annual fee regardless of property value.
For more about the annual assessment structure, projections and other 2015 budget planning information, click here or visit the Budget & Finance pages on www.reston.org.
