Upon successful efforts to secure a federal definition of “special district” and to gain status as geographic entities, NSDC will focus on securing special districts’ direct eligibility for fundamental local government programming, such as the population-based funding opportunities within U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, EPA, U.S. Department of Transportation, and other departments that may execute funding opportunities of interest to special districts.

NSDC also amplifies access to grant opportunities for rural, underserved communities, and to ensure these communities continue to have a voice in urban and rural funding opportunities.

Many special districts operate on relatively small annual budgets with few paid staff, and face hardships in submitting robust, competitive grant applications to aid in achieving their infrastructure goals. Furthermore, staff may lack qualifications or expertise for effective grant writing,  and contracting grant services can be costly.

NSDC strongly recommends federally funded infrastructure and community programs include, in general: user-friendly approaches, allow for a lengthy submission timeline, and provide streamlined, direct opportunities to review comments on unsuccessful grant applications. NSDC especially supports this type of assistance for special districts serving disadvantaged communities, which often grapple to pursue opportunities directed at their communities.

Finally, small districts with budget and staff constraints often struggle with regulatory reporting, which can be burdensome financial risk for small special districts most in need of assistance. NSDC also recommends any existing or new programming keep complexities of reporting requirements relatively simple and extend technical assistance to special districts with low capacity to accomplish heavy reporting requirements.

Special purpose units of local government are part of the local government landscape in America, providing services alongside their town, township, borough, village, pueblo, city, parish, and county counterparts. NSDC seeks opportunities to collaborate and partner in non-legislative forums to strengthen ties among all governments which often finding efficiencies and cost savings. Our goal is to foster cooperative local efforts to invest in local programming, boost resilient infrastructure, enhance community resiliency, and to support legislation authorizing programs that foster intergovernmental cooperation.

Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding programs, also known as earmarks, made a comeback for Fiscal Year 2022. Absent the ability to readily access other federal program funds, these congressional requests pose a unique opportunity for special districts to request specific project funding. As long as the earmark program is active, NSDC is committed to providing members resources needed for crafting and submitting projects to members of Congress including program guidelines, timelines, and access to consultation services. NSDC does not endorse specific projects.