Streamline Blog

What did it mean to be a special district in 2022? Over the last year, we talked with thousands of district managers, board members, attorneys, associations, management companies, mayors, state senators, US senators, and legislators. Here are the top 6 most impactful things that stood out to us in 2022.  

While the number of Special Districts has increased since 2017, this story of growth has unfolded differently in each state. States like Colorado and Florida saw their district count grow by 17% and 13%, respectively. On the other hand, Iowa experienced a decrease in special districts of -13%. Overall, special districts are quite stable in the US with the vast majority of states growing or shrinking their count by 5% or less, and as we mentioned in our previous post, the US has experienced a healthy overall gain of 800 new districts since 2017.   Map: District Growth by State (2017-2022)

Special districts are the most common form of government in the United States, and their popularity continues to grow. Since 2017, the U.S. has added almost 800 new special districts, bringing the total number of independent districts to an all-time high of 39,262. 

We speak with literally hundreds of special districts every week. And we’ve found that the best-run districts all have a special district "rockstar." This isn’t the person who actually puts out the fires, keeps the water clean, or kills the mosquito larvae.

Streamline has always stood for holding ourselves and our community accountable to good governance and transparency to the public. We don’t just help you build a website. We provide much-needed guidance on the laws and regulations that affect how you should (and in some cases, must!) communicate with your community and stakeholders online.

In a revolutionary partnership, Streamline CEO, Mac Clemmens, and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, have reached an agreement to put special districts on Mars by the year 2026.

As a special district, how do you combat the often-heard sentiment, "They just don’t do that much..."?  While your district may not be directly competing with anyone, keeping your community informed ensures everyone knows the value you are providing.

Late last year, a bill was filed in the Florida Legislature to dissolve all of the state's 58 Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 

We believe California special districts deserve COVID-19 relief funds. So we’re partnering with CSDA and a growing coalition of communities and local leaders to urge the State of California to extend Coronavirus relief funding to special districts. 

I want to share a story from the Carmel Area Wastewater District - a story that highlights the amazing work special districts do behind the scenes, as well as the great job they’ve done sharing critical information with the public during the covid crisis.