Reston Association trims staff merit pool, approves $140,000 one-time pay pool and other budget changes

The Reston Association Board of Directors on Oct. 9 approved several changes to the draft 2026–27 budget after extended debate, including a cut to the proposed employee merit increase and a one-time market adjustment.

The board voted to reduce the proposed staff merit pool from 4% to 3.2% for the 2026–27 biannual budget, and later approved directing staff to use an attrition assumption of 4% (instead of the previously proposed 3.5%) when preparing the personnel budget. The board also approved a one-time employee compensation pool of $140,000 to be applied consistent with the adopted compensation philosophy.

Why it matters: those personnel assumptions feed directly into the assessment and the operating budget. Board members argued the changes balance staff pay competitiveness with assessment pressure on members.

Key votes and actions - Merit pool cut: Motion to reduce merit pool to 3.2% — approved after a failed substitute for 3.5%. - Attrition assumption: Motion to set assumed salary savings at 4% — approved; an earlier motion to use 4.5% failed. - One-time pay pool: Motion to approve a one-time $140,000 compensation pool — passed.

Other budget moves - IT modernization: After discussion and a substitute motion, the board reduced planned new technology and software line items tied to membership engagement and HR to a $70,000 total reduction in draft 2 (a staff-subgroup recommendation). That substitute passed. - Pools: The board instructed staff to keep pool operating hours at 2025 levels for draft 2, but add season-2 hours at Shadowood (an incremental $19,000); staff were asked to adjust schedules based on 2025 usage data. - Repair/replace and capital contributions: The board debated multiple CIP-related reductions and ultimately asked staff to produce draft 2 that reflects available underruns, carryover funds and re-prioritizations so the proposed contribution to capital can be reconsidered in context.

Discussion highlights Board members repeatedly asked staff to tie budget assumptions to empirical data: market surveys for merit planning, turnover histories for attrition assumptions, and pool attendance data for operating-hours planning. Staff cautioned that overly aggressive salary-savings assumptions could risk payroll overruns if vacancies did not materialize.

What happens next Staff will prepare a revised draft (draft 2) for the board and fiscal committee showing the agreed adjustments, carryovers and any project reprioritizations. The board directed staff to deliver that draft in time for the next meeting schedule so members can review before the public budget hearing and before final adoption.

Ending The board’s motions reflect an approach of small, targeted budget adjustments rather than broad cuts, and they delegate further technical changes to staff for incorporation into draft 2 ahead of the next review.