North Village View

2026 Budget, maintenance and more

by the North Village Board of Directors

BUDGET FOR 2026
The Board approved its draft 2026 budget for publication in October and conducted a final vote at the Oct. 16 meeting. The accompanying table (below) provides a summary, and the corresponding assessment the Board approved for 2026. We hope you’ll find
this information helpful in understanding the budget for next year.

Comparison of Proposed NVHC Budget for 2026 with Prior Years

Guided by the by-laws of the North Village Homes Corporation (NVHC), certain expenditure increases are capped by the Consumer Price Index change (CPI) from last year to this year. This expenditure includes everything but the special contracts for security and trash. The CPI change for the evaluation period was 2.8%. Just like last year, we have taken the increasing living expenses that everyone is facing and opted to minimize the NV increase to help where we could. When all outlays are considered, the budget projects to be an overall 2.53% increase this year.

BUDGET ANALYSIS
Maintenance expenses 
Maintenance expenses are the largest part of the budget, consistent with prior years. Of the $246,727 we are budgeting for 2026, the fixed price landscaping contract accounts for $131,017. These funds will help ensure that the common area lawns are mowed and the leaf collection will continue. This contract came in 8% higher than last year due to the costs they are incurring to comply with the Montgomery County gas blower law. A large component of this category is the tree removal line item, budgeted at $23,000 down from
$50,000 last year.

Trash, security and nonmaintenance expenses
We have special contracts for trash and security, authorized by homeowner-approved by-laws, that account for approximately $258,544
in our budget. This year, we will continue with the security service that provides us with hours dedicated solely to our community and a vendor that did not increase their rates for 2026.

Trash Removal: We are budgeting $122,544 for trash removal for 2026. This number represents a 5% increase over last year. We are still in the position where J&J remains the most reliable and financially viable option for trash removal, despite the increase for the year, but the biggest source of the trash increase comes from bulk trash.

Bulk Trash: We emphasize that four (4) bulk trash pickups per home are included in J&J’s contract. Through October, we’ve spent more than $45,000 this year on bulk trash pickups that didn’t go through J&J. Please encourage your neighbors to contact J&J by using their simple website form or by phone for bulk pickup. This will reduce the need for extra resources for bulk trash pickups. Unfortunately, we must budget $66,000 for bulk trash pickup in 2026. We believe this is adequate, but our hope is that residents will make better use of J&J pickups for bulk trash. Let’s work together to minimize these extra costs.

Security: We have an excellent security service with hours dedicated solely to our community. Fortunately, the vendor kept their fees constant so the budget for 2026 is $65,000, the same as last year.

Non-maintenance: The third category is non-maintenance and includes the Montgomery Village Foundation management fee, legal, bad
debt and required expenses such as audit and insurance. This category does increase by 4.3% as MVF was unable to hold their rates for 3 years in a row.

CAPITAL RESERVES
The planned contribution to Capital Reserves for 2026 of $159,536 is an increase over 2025 but consistent with recommendations
in our 2020 reserve study. We expect to incur costs related to recommendations in that study that cover road repairs and concrete
repairs. One other note regarding capital reserves is that the same study would indicate a potential special assessment is
needed but we believe we can manage our reserves without implementing this.

Please provide questions or comments to our community manager before our November Board Meeting. See contact information below.

TWO LEAF PICKUPS THIS FALL
Only during the following weeks are you allowed to place leaves in the street. Please bag leaves for recycling at all other times to avoid backups of street drains, and to allow emergency vehicles to get by.
• The week of Nov. 17
• The week of Dec. 15

Safety Watch: Wear Helmets for Bike Riding and Lithium Batteries
We ask everyone to slow down as the days grow shorter and leaves begin to fall, making pedestrians less visible. When riding bikes or e-bikes, please wear a helmet – it's the law and essential for safety. Regarding safety hazards, please exercise caution when storing
indoors lithium-powered e-bikes and other items with lithium batteries, as these batteries pose a fire risk.

Important Numbers:
J&J Trash Service: 301-898-2109
MC Recycling – New Blue Bins – Scrap Metal:  311
Pepco: 877-737-2662
WSSC: 301-206-4001

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Board will be held on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at North Creek Community Center.

You may contact our community manager, April Steward, at 301-948-0110, x-2325, with your interest in attending the meeting.
If you have any questions or want to report any problems in the community, please reach out to April at that number or email her at
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North Village View: for residents of Essex Place, Highland Hall, McRory, Perry Place, Picton, Pleasant Ridge and Salem’s Grant.