Special-purpose district
A
special-purpose district, also known as a
special district, is a type of
district differing from
general-purpose districts like
municipalities,
counties, etc., in that they only serve one or a few special purposes and do not provide a broad array of services. They are common in the
United States of America, whose 29,000 districts play an important role in providing government services in every
U.S. state but
Alaska.
[Osborne M. Reynolds, Jr., Handbook of Local Government Law, 2nd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2001), 29-31.]Special-purpose districts provide specialized services only to those persons who live within them. They are empowered to tax residents of the district, usually by a
property tax but sometimes a
sales tax, for the services that they provide. They often cross the lines of towns, villages and hamlets, but rarely cross city or county lines.
Districts are created by legislative action or public referendum, and contain a district board which operates the district. The board serves as a district
board of directors and is usually elected by popular vote. The board serves primarily as a legislative board and appoints a
chief executive for day to day operations and decision making and policy implementation. It also retains a token judicial function in dealing with employee disciplinary matters.
Districts should not be confused with
authorities which are organizationally similar, but are usually required to be financially self-supporting through fees and services rendered charges.
A good example of a special-purpose district would be a
school district. Special districts are sometimes created to provide
fire protection,
sewer service,
transit service or to manage
water resources. In many states in the USA,
school districts manage the schools. These districts are usually much more flexible than more geographically determined municipalities. All special-purpose districts are formed by some level of government in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and exist in all states.
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Community college district
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Conservation district*Electricity district
*
Fire protection district*
Highway district (historic UK) or
Road commission (Michigan)
*Hospital district
*
Library district*
Open space district *Parks and Recreation district
*
Poor law union*
Port district*
Public utility district*
Reclamation district*
Sanitary district (historic UK)
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School district*Vector Control district
*
Water district*
Los Angeles Community College District,
California*
Metropolitan School District of Perry Township,
Indianapolis,
Indiana*
Reedy Creek Improvement District,
Florida*
Metro,
Portland metropolitan area,
Oregon*
Metropolitan Board of Works*
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago*
York Rural Sanitary District*
authority*
business improvement district*
interstate compact*
municipality*
off-budget enterprise*
political science*
quasi-autonomous non-government organisation*
residential community association*
United States federal judicial district*
California Special Districts Association
