For several years, the Reston Citizens Association’s principal working ambition has been to help Reston become a town.
At its monthly meeting Tuesday night, the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) Board of Directors announced the results of its “What’s In It For Me” case studies in which directors developed a list of benefits for various community groups if Reston were to become a town.
The informal case studies, researched and completed by the directors, were aimed at particular stakeholders, including renters, homeowners, businesses and various age groups.
The directors found that many of the proclaimed benefits overlapped from constituency to constituency. Each study mentioned that a town would help provide a more unified community identity, greater political clout and one-stop shopping for government services.
“In the case of the Metro coming to Reston, we’d have greater clout and a single political voice,” said Robert Haley, the director representing South Lakes.
Director Debra Steppel announced her case study results for various age groups. “I found that I was repeating myself,” she said.
In addition, many of the directors mentioned that a town system would be less confusing.
“You end up with a lot less finger pointing,” RCA Director Debra Steppel said of a town system. She said that a town government becomes a clear first option for questions about the delivery of local government services.
“The [government] system we have now is difficult to navigate,” said RCA Director Mark Terry. He said that the current system is confusing and that a town system would provide cohesion and clarification for all Reston constituencies.
The directors plan to take their results to the people with “pilot testing” where they will tell residents about their findings on a trial basis and report back at their board meeting next month.