Special District Strategies, LLC

07/29/2026

SDS is working with the Missouri Special Districts Association and the Arizona Special Districts Alliance to deliver relevant, meaningful, impactful programs that inform special district leaders - like this upcoming expert panel for Missouri and Arizona's districts to "Demystify Data Centers."

Cole Arreola-Karr, SDS Founder/Principal, will moderate the discussion featuring academic, think-tank, and governance professionals with knowledge and expertise on data centers and related topics.

We are looking forward to another great engaging, informative conversation for district leaders!

MoSDA is partnering with the Arizona Special Districts Alliance for a special monthly Coordinating Call covering data centers on Thursday morning, July 30. We are looking forward to an expert panel discussion covering what data centers are and are not, their economic considerations, and the environmental/resource elements of data center placement.

Carol Shrock, ASDA President; Dr. Joel Burken, Chair of Missouri S&T's Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering; and David Stokes, Show-Me Institute Director of Municipal Policy will bring their perspectives for the program and districts' Q&A.

This is an event for MoSDA and ASDA memberships. Please message us or contact [email protected] for more information.

06/18/2026

🎉 We are celebrating a big, bipartisan moment for legislative efforts to close community water-for-fire infrastructure gaps with the bipartisan “FIRE SMART Act!" S. 4812 (Padilla) would provide flexibility within existing water infrastructure programs to assist with fire suppression needs in rural communities with high fire risk!

Read more: https://specialdistrictstrategies.com/sds-home/f/fire-smart-act-addresses-rural-wui-water-for-fire-infrastructure

Special districts across the country have been advocating for solutions within existing federal infrastructure programs to better serve needs of fire protection and drinking water districts. The high cost of water-for-fire infrastructure funding is a top barrier for many of the state’s resource-strapped special districts to upgrade existing systems, invest in new infrastructure, and altogether enhance water and fire protection to reduce insurance risk and premiums in the community. From this perspective, SDS water-for-fire infrastructure as three-pronged issue plugged into a community’s health, safety, and affordability.

Special District Strategies (SDS) is a strong advocate for policy and community-oriented solutions that close gaps in water-for-fire infrastructure and enhance special districts’ access to opportunities for disaster mitigation. SDS works with clients for education on mitigation and water-for-fire needs and advocacy on the topic.

Shoutout to the Tahoe Water for Fire Suppression Partnership and ENS Resources for their grassroots leadership, policy persistence, and real-life implementation of solutions to close community water-for-fire infrastructure gaps. Big thanks as well to SDS clients and "network colleagues" for originally supporting and boosting S. 4812: the Arizona Special Districts Alliance, National Association of Emergency and Fire Officials, and Montana Fire Trustees Association!

01/05/2026

We are proud to have coordinated the development of the Missouri Special Districts Association from its July 2025 beginning as an ad hoc advocacy coalition focused on property tax reform to the incoprorated statewide, all-districts nonprofit organization it has now become.

SDS coordinated the steering committee and coalition activities during the organization's development from the "Missouri Special Districts Alliance" into a formal Association. This included 13 special districts roundtables, five statwide coordinating calls, testimony before a State Senate panel exploring property tax reform, and recruitment of 53 members.

MoSDA incorporated on December 31, 2025. Governing structures - including the founding Board of Directors and two primary committees - will be set through January 2026.

Missouri is now the 11th state with an organization to serve all types of special districts. SDS has coordinated two that have been formed as nonprofit organizations (MoSDA and the Arizona Special Districts Alliance).

Missouri’s special districts have formally established the Missouri Special Districts Association (MoSDA), a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening special districts and the leaders who deliver essential public services in...

12/29/2025

Be prepared for the policy landscape that special districts face in the year ahead, and get the latest on the goings-on in Special Districts World with the SDS Special Districts Download, the premiere news and advocacy service for all types of special districts.

Since February 2024, we have produced the 'Special Districts Download' as a biweekly newsletter that provides insights on federal issues and state policy trends for the special districts perspective. In September, this "Newsletter for a Special Purpose" to a subscription service offering enhanced advocacy resources, build a professional network for reliable and trustworthy professional services for our subscribers and clients, and to sustain our bimonthly virtual policy coffees.

Learn more and subscribe today! Annual individual subscriptions are only $50, and the first two editions are offered on a trial basis. Check it out! ➡️ https://specialdistrictstrategies.com/sds-download