Key takeaways
- Special districts are the most common type of local government: 40,199 of the 91,438 local governments counted in 2025 — and their number is growing.
- They're single-purpose governments, such as water, fire, transit, airport, port, parks and library districts, with their own boards and budgets.
- Many are small and hard to find in standard databases, so research and phone outreach matter.
- For KOVA, KSG reached airports nationwide, adding 164 opportunities and generating $5 million in revenue.
What is a special district?
A special district is a local government created to provide one service — or a few related ones — with its own governing board and budget, independent of the city or county around it.
Examples include water and sewer districts, fire protection districts, transit authorities, airport and port authorities, parks and recreation districts, library districts, hospital districts and housing authorities. The U.S. Census Bureau counted 40,199 special districts in 2025, up from 39,555 in 2022, with growth in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska and Texas. Regional bodies such as councils of governments (COGs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) also plan and coordinate services across jurisdictions.
Who's involved
- general managers, executive directors and CEOs;
- boards of directors or commissioners, who approve budgets and contracts;
- operations, maintenance and engineering leaders;
- finance and procurement staff; and
- at airports, airport directors, operations personnel and aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) units.
How special districts buy
- Board-approved budgets and capital plans, adopted in public meetings with published agendas and minutes.
- Their own procurement policies, set within state law.
- Federal and state funding — for example, the FAA's Airport Improvement Program for eligible airport projects and Federal Transit Administration grants for transit agencies.
- Cooperative contracts, including programs run by regional councils of governments.
How KSG approaches special districts
- Build the list. Districts are scattered and often missing from commercial databases, so we research them directly.
- Find the decision-makers. Small districts may have a handful of staff; we find the person who owns the problem.
- Combine channels. Phone, email and event-based outreach — such as pre-show campaigns for airport industry events.
- Qualify and schedule. Meetings land on your calendar with board and budget context.
Results
KOVA developed KEANS, an emergency alert notification system that connects multiple locations, agencies and public address systems. KSG ran a multichannel campaign targeting large international airports and regional airports in the U.S., reaching airport directors, operations personnel and ARFF units. Over two years the campaign added 164 opportunities and generated $5 million in revenue.