Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, or limited purpose entities) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such as

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, municipal, and township governments, with substantial administrative and fiscal independence. They are formed to perform a single function or a set of related functions. The term ''special district governments'' as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau excludes

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

s. In 2017, the U.S. had more than 51,296 special district governments.

Census definition

The United States Census counts government units across all States. This includes "special districts". To count the special districts the Census must define the special districts so as to address all such governmental entities across the broad spectrum of 50 states' definitions and interpretations. The Census's full definition is:

Special district governments are independent, special purpose governmental units, other than school district governments, that exist as separate entities with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from general purpose local governments. As defined for Census Bureau statistics on governments, the term "special district governments" excludes school district governments as they are defined as a separate governmental type. Special district governments provide specific services that are not being supplied by existing general purpose governments. Most perform a single function, but in some instances, their enabling legislation allows them to provide several, usually related, types of services. The services provided by these districts range from such basic social needs as hospitals and fire protection, to the less conspicuous tasks of mosquito abatement and upkeep of cemeteries. The Census Bureau classification of special district governments covers a wide variety of entities, most of which are officially called districts or authorities. Not all public agencies so termed, however, represent separate governments. Many entities that carry the designation "district" or "authority" are, by law, so closely related to county, municipal, town or township, or state governments that they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments, and are not counted as separate special district governments. In order to be classified as a special district government, rather than as a subordinate agency, an entity must possess three attributes—existence as an organized entity, governmental character, and substantial autonomy. Each state description also lists various statutory authorities, commissions, corporations, and other forms of organizations that have certain governmental characteristics, but are subject by law to administrative or fiscal control by the state or by independent local governments; therefore, they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments.

Characteristics

Special districts serve limited areas and have governing boards that accomplish legislatively assigned functions using public funds.Mitzanry, K, & Manatt, A. (2002, February).What's so special about special districts? A citizen's guide to special districts in California. 3rd. ed. p. 2.

Governing body

Each district is governed by a

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

s, board of supervisors, or the like. These boards may be appointed by public

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

s, appointed by private entities, popularly elected, or elected by benefited citizens (typically,

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

owners). Sometimes, one or more public officials will serve as an ex officio member on the board. The board of a special district serves primarily as a managing board and often appoints a chief executive for day-to-day operations and decision making and policy implementation. In the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

states, special districts are often run in the same town meeting fashion as other local governments. Most districts have employees, but some districts exist solely to raise funds by issuing bonds and/or by providing tax increment financing.

Functions

Special districts perform many functions including

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

s, mass transit, parking facilities,

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially Conflagration, destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, Compartmentalization (fire protection), compartmentalisation, suppression and inve ...

, libraries,

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s, cemeteries,

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

, conservation, sewerage,

wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...

, solid waste, fiber optic systems,

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...

, and natural gas utility.

Legal basis

Special districts are authorized by state law and must have

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

foundation,

civil office An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

, and public

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

State law

Special districts in the United States are founded by some level of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in accordance with state law (either constitutional amendment, general law, or special acts) and exist in all states. Special districts are legally separate entities with at least some corporate powers. Districts are created by legislative action, court action, or public

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

. The procedures for creating a special district may include procedures such as

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

s, hearings, voter or landowner approval, or government approval. Tribal governments may create special districts pursuant to state law and may serve on the boards of special districts.

Public foundation

Special districts, like all public entities, have

foundation. The

landmark case Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...

of the U.S. Supreme Court addressing public versus private charters was '' Dartmouth College v. Woodward'' in 1819.Newmyer, R. K. John Marshall and heroic age of the Supreme Court. Louisiana State University Press: Baton Rouge, 2001, pp. 244-253. Dartmouth established the fundamental differences between public and private organizations. Critically, a government must be founded by all of the people of a governmental area or by their governmental representatives.Allen v. McKean, 1 F. Cas. 489 (1833)Currie, D. P. (1982, Fall). The Constitution in the Supreme Court: State and Congressional powers, 1801-1835. University of Chicago Law Review. 49 U. Chi. L. Rev. 887.

Civil office

Special districts possess some form of

, that is, the board has received a delegation of

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

power from the state. Some boards may be appointed by only landowners. Private entities may appoint some or all of the members of a special district; however, there must be evidence of civil office. In addition to special districts with privately appointed boards, a special district may have a privately founded board; however, such a board could not be given the power to set a tax.

Accountability

There is a citizen-government fiscal

relationship. To maintain accountability for special districts, states must maintain ultimate control (the power to repeal the authorizing law at any time). Due to public foundation and, thus, ultimate control, the state can freely delegate sovereign power (such as the power to tax) to special districts and can allow them to act autonomously with little supervision.

History

There is little information available on the earliest special districts in the United States. It is known that park districts existed in the 18th century.

Toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

and

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

corporations existed in the 19th century.Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. (1964, May). The problem special districts in American government. Washington, DC UNT Digital Library The first general statute authorizing

irrigation district In the United States an irrigation district is a cooperative, self-governing public corporation set up as a subdivision of the State government, with definite geographic boundaries, organized, and having taxing power to obtain and distribute water ...

s was adopted by California in 1887. The U.S. Census Bureau began identifying and collecting data on special districts in 1942.

English custom

Special districts in the United States follow the English custom. The earliest known general law in England authorizing special purpose authorities was the Statute of Sewers of 1532.Webb, S.(1922). English local government: Statutory authorities for special purposes. p. 61. Single purpose authorities created by individual

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

s also existed at the time. However, the early authorities were temporary and unconnected to local government structure. The first laws authorizing permanent authorities connected to local governments were the Incorporated Guardians of the Poor, which were created by special acts in the 17th century.

Turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...

s were an early and popular special purpose authority in England.Webb, S.(1922). English local government: Statutory authorities for special purposes. Internal drainage boards are current examples in parts of England and Wales.

Trends

The state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

leads the nation in the number of special districts with

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

close behind. State counts of their special districts may differ from the federal count because the states may have different definitions of a special district than the U.S. Census Bureau.

Examples

All of the following examples have been found by the U.S. Census Bureau to be special districts.U.S. Census Bureau 2012 Census of Governments Governments Organization See the Census of Governments Government Organization publications at a depository library or visit https://www.census.gov and select Governments Division. * Alabama: Alabama Municipal Electric Authority *

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

: regional electrical authorities

Water district A water district is a Special-purpose district, special district given the task of supplying water and sewer needs to a community. This term is commonly used in the United States. See also * Irrigation district * Drinking water supply and sanit ...

(general law) * Arizona: Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority * Arkansas: fire ant abatement districts (general law) *

: Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District *

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

: Regional Transportation District, Salida Hospital District *

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

: Pomperaug Valley Water Authority (special act) * Delaware: tax ditches (general law) *

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

: Central Florida Tourism Oversight District * Georgia: Atlanta BeltLine Special Services District * Hawaii: Central Maui Soil & Water Conservation District * Idaho: auditorium districts (general law) *

: Cook Memorial Public Library District * Indiana: Northwest Indiana Commuter Transportation District * Iowa: library districts (joint or regional) (general law) * Kansas: industrial districts (general law) * Kentucky: Highview Fire Protection District * Louisiana: West Jefferson Levee District * Maine: cemetery districts (special acts) * Maryland: water and sewer authorities (general law) * Massachusetts: Holyoke Water Works * Michigan: Huron–Clinton Metroparks * Minnesota: Minnehaha Creek Watershed District * Mississippi: lighting districts (special acts) * Missouri: Jackson County Sports Complex Authority (special act) * Montana: county rail authorities (general law) * Nebraska: Omaha Public Power District * Nevada: Las Vegas–Clark County Library District * New Hampshire: housing authorities (general law) * New Jersey:

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Town ...

* New Mexico: Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District * New York: Port Washington Parking District * North Carolina: Research Triangle Regional Public Transit Authority (special act) * North Dakota: Minot Park District *

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District * Oklahoma: public library systems (general law) * Oregon: Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District *

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

: Philadelphia Regional Port Authority *

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

: East Providence Special Development District Commission (special act) * South Carolina: St. John's Fire District * South Dakota: television translator districts (general law) * Tennessee: utility districts (general law) *

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

: Palacios Seawall Commission (special act) * Utah: Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District * Vermont: Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (special act) *

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

: Buchanan County Tourist Train Development Authority (special act) * Washington: Independent health districts * West Virginia: Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority *

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District * Wyoming: Baggs Solid Waste Disposal District

References

External links

A Citizen's Guide to Special Districts in California

California Special Districts Association

Special Districts Association of Oregon

Oregon Special Districts Fact Sheets

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau/Governments Organization/Volume 1

Government Accounting Standards Board

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100211112521/http://harvester.census.gov/gid/gid_07/options.html 2007 Governments Integrated Directory, U.S. Census Bureau
IRS tax-exempt bond information

Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Special District Accountability Program

State and Local Government Review - current and past issues

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Special Districts (HBO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special-Purpose District Types of administrative division