Reston Association Board Plan to Pick Successors

THE VIEW FROM OVER HERE

The Reston Association Board of Directors meets the last week of each month. RA’s top staffer, CEO Cate Fulkerson, oversees the preparation of a packet of materials for each meeting--a packet that ranges from 50 to 100 or more pages of excruciating detail and trivia. Recently, one subject caught my eye. It is a CEO/President proposal to create a Governance Committee, which will be the subject of an unpublicized full Board “working meeting” at 6 PM on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at RA. Y’all come!

Since July, Board members, along with a consultant brought in by the CEO, have been skirmishing about the Governance Committee which would sit at the very top of the pyramid of RA committees. This ruling committee would be in addition to the existing Board Planning Committee which currently sets the agenda for Board meetings and is responsible for strategic planning. The Governance Committee would absorb several of its functions, including strategic planning. This new Committee would consist exclusively of Board President, VP, Secretary, and the CEO, whereas the Planning Committee is much more broadly representative. This concentration of power, including decision authority, is one reason why Board members have not reached agreement yet.

In addition, the proposal calls for Governance to have extraordinary powers, such as “succession planning”, including picking a “pool” of people who would be eligible for election to the Board; naming a slate of approved (endorsed?) candidates for election and orienting them to RA before the election is even held; and, establish[ing] a Board code of conduct and conflict of interest rules.

Certainly a code of conduct and more effective conflict of interest prohibitions seem to be in order after events of the last two years. The land swap in effect transferring an acre of Reston community upland hardwood trees for private use as a parking lot is one prime example. But, putting conflict of interest and code of conduct matters in the hands of the three officers and CEO does not seem the best solution. Independent, third party help with appropriate credentials is needed, as is broader Board participation.

And, the proposal to put Board succession into the hands of incumbents—deciding who is eligible, picking a Board-blessed slate—is inconsistent with our community values and downright anti-democratic. I am not 100% sure where this idea originated, but it is a bad one and should be returned to sender.

At the “Board working meeting” at 6 PM on Wednesday, Sept. 24, the President plans to finalize the committees’ structure for final approval. Hopefully, some folks from the community will attend. This matter needs daylight.

To catch up, see background materials at the RA website, www.reston.org. Click on Inside RA, go to Board of Directors, then Board Meeting Agenda Packets. Select July 31 Packet and scan Item H, especially the side by side comparison of the committees. Then, select the much shorter items at 9/24 meeting.