Prorated RA assessment fees are required by the RA Deed.

A couple of weeks ago, we took the RA Board to task (here) for introducing prorated assessment fees for low-value properties, specifically 0.5% of the value of properties worth $128,400 or less.   Well, to use an NFL officiating term, upon further review the proposed prorated fee is specifically called for in the RA Deed.  It is not a change of process.

Specifically, Section V.8 of the RA Deed sets a limit on how high RA assessment fees may rise.  It specifically states that no property can be forced to pay more than one-half percent of its County-assessed property value.  Here’s the language in the Deed:

Section V.8. Maximum Assessment.

 (a) In any one year, the sum of the Annual Assessment for Common Expenses and any

Special Assessment, attributable to that year, with respect to any Lot shall not exceed the lesser of:

 (1) Percentage Cap. One-half of one percent of the assessed valuation, as determined

for tax purposes from time to time by Fairfax County, of such Lot and improvements

thereon;  . . .

Although we accept responsibility for our post, RA did not make the source of the authority for this prorated fee easily understood by the community.  The RA resolution refers to this “maximum assessment” section in the eleventh of its fourteen “whereas” recitals in the current draft assessment fee proposal.   (See the draft resolution at the link above.)  The RA news release on the proposed assessment fees does not explain the authority for the newly published prorated assessment fee.  

So RA is making explicit in its assessment fee schedule—for the first time to our knowledge--the requirement of the Deed to limit assessment fees since the community amended the Deed in 2006.   We applaud the Board's effort to make the prorated fee transparent as part of the annual RA fee setting process.