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Special Districts
Independent special districts are sanctioned under California law for the performances of local governmental functions within specified boundries. Agencies range in size from small to very large and often cross political boundary lines, such as city and county borders, to serve a common community of interest. There is a clear identification between agency name and services provided, which has resulted in a high level of accountability and responsibility to the public, and a high degree of customer satisfaction. As such, they are an integral part of local government and contribute significantly to the quality of life in the communities they serve.
Definition
There are two types of special districts: Independent Special distcricts are separate, local agencies, created by local petition or through popular election. Independent special districts are directly accountable to their constituents, not another layer of government.
Independent special districts are further characterized as enterprise and non-enterprise districts. Non-enterprise districts provide those govermental services on a district-wide basis which cannot be economically funded solely through user fees such as fire protection, parks and libraries. For this reason, non-enterprise districts rely primarily on a portion of local property tax revenues to fund their facilities and services.
Enterprise districts, on the other hand, usually provide direct, site specific services to property within their district and may recover most or all of their services delivery costs through rates imposed on users of the service.
Dependent special districts are administrative extensions on cities or counties. They depend on another unit of government for their existence, and are only accountable to this other layer of government.
Services
These agencies fill in local service gaps throughout the state as requested by local voters. Services provided include: airport, cemetery, fire protection, harbor, healthcare, irrigation, mosquito and vector control, municipal improvement, park recreation, police, reclamation, transportation, water, wastewater treatment, and other related community services.
Fiscal Statement
According to the State Legislative Analyst, independent special districts have consistently shown the slowest rate of spending growth for local governments. They are independently audited, and subject to state and public scrutiny like other forms of local government.
Who Runs Them
Districts are governed by boards of directors, elected or appointed for fixed terms, and are directly accountable to the public. Boards are subject to initiative, referendum, recall, the Brown Act, and other related public agency statutes. The directors are members of the communities they serve and must reside or own property within their respective service area. They often work and interact within the community in which they reside.
Interactions with Agencies
Agencies frequently interact among themselves and other forms of local government. Examples of local efficiencies and cost sharing include mutual aid agreements for services and emergency response, joint exercise of powers agreements, memoranda of understanding, and shared personnel and equipment.