AASD - Southern Special Districts Governance Summit

Kristin Cooper Carter | Grant Management Associates

Join Kristin Cooper Carter, a grants powerhouse, as she walks special districts through approaches to unlocking federal and state grant opportunities.

This program will highlight how federal and state grants from agencies like DOE, DOT, and DHS can help special districts access the resources needed to strengthen their operations and resilience – with a focus on the alignment between these funding opportunities and the unique missions of special districts. Further, Kristin will illustrate the benefits of a proactive approach to grant funding, emphasizing collaboration, strategic planning, and forward-thinking investments in community resilience and infrastructure. Finally, we will cover how a partnership with GMA simplifies the complexities of grant processes, enabling district leaders to focus on their missions while enhancing their professional development and leadership capabilities.

District leaders will walk away from this presentation with confidence to leveraging external funding to achieve governance goals and operational success; knowledge of how to adopt strategic frameworks for grant acquisition, enhancing their ability to future-proof their districts; and feel empowered to take actionable steps toward securing essential funding with the support of a trusted partner in GMA.

Crosby Grindle | Cooperative Purchasing, LLC

Discover a more efficient way to look at your procurement process that saves time, offers you choice, and delivers better value. This session will discuss the importance of understanding your procurement process and guide you through the advantages of cooperative purchasing, your tool to smarter procurement.

Cooperative procurement has become a widely accepted practice to help local and state governments save time and money. This practice has evolved to cover most products and services special districts need to purchase. This means directors and agency leaders have another tool to save money and reduce overhead while ensuring they get the products they want for their district. You will learn how to create your own cooperative procurement strategy and take advantage of this procurement tool offered by a variety of organizations.

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David Moffett | Oppenheimer & Company
Frank Reed | Oppenheimer & Company

Municipal bonds are the cornerstone for many special districts’ capital projects and community service. Oppenheimer & Company, bringing more than 140 years of financial management experience, will present best practices and insights for special districts via case studies of the organization’s bond counsel activities with special districts in the South.

Join David Moffett and Frank Reed, leading Oppenheimer’s Public Finance operations based in Atlanta, as they provides insight for special district leaders on the do’s and don’ts for the full process – from planning to execution.

Oppenheimer’s General Municipal Banking Team leverages localized experience and a national distribution platform to develop and execute capital financing plans that fulfill our clients’ objectives. Our experts structure and distribute municipal securities on behalf of state and local governments and provides public sector clients with regionalized banking expertise and broad securities distribution capabilities to both retail and institutional investors.

Desmond LeBlanc | Special District Management Solutions, LLC
AASD Board Member – Housing, Community Development, and Broadband Division
AASD Treasurer & Budget Committee Chair
Lakeshore Villages (La.) Master Community Development District, Board Chairman
St. Tammany Parish (La.) Drainage District No. 2, Board Chairman

A crucial distinction exists between governance and management within special districts. Join Desmond LeBlanc with Special District Management Solutions, to focus on how the “separation of powers” among managers and directors can contribute to the effective functioning of special districts.

This presentation explores the key advantages of establishing strategic partnerships: illustrating how their expertise can streamline daily operations, enhance decision-making, and foster a more efficient allocation of resources. By clarifying these roles and the value of professional collaboration, the presentation underscores how special districts can achieve improved outcomes and greater organizational effectiveness.

Arianna Mace | Propel Consulting, LLC

Join Arianna Mace for insights on how best to propel your special districts toward effective strategic planning success.

This presentation will cover how to initiate the strategic planning process, which includes conducting a comprehensive needs assessment and “SWOT analysis,” engaging community stakeholders through interviews and focus groups, and the best approach to crafting a robust steering committee for effective strategizing. Ari will dive deeper into setting “SMART goals” as an action plan that is aligned with special district missions and priorities. Finally, the presentation will emphasize ensuring plan sustainability and adaptability, covering how to consider budgeting and resource allocation while building flexibility to address unforeseen challenges effectively.

Jonathan Roach | Roach & Associates, PLLC 
AASD Board Member – Region V (Gulf South)
AASD Advocacy & Coalition Development Committee, Chair
Texas Special Districts Coalition, Stakeholder

Join Jonathan Roach, a leading attorney for special districts across Southeast Texas, for a presentation focused on ethics for public officials. Although each state has its own set of laws and rules governing how public officials must act, behave, be trained, and more: this presentation will focus on the rules that are generally consistent across the spectrum. We will cover some ‘spot checks’ on specific states within the Gulf South region along with some case studies on the ethical do’s & don’ts.

Kevin McAtamney | The Standard Insurance Company 

Special districts offering employee retirement benefits have a fiduciary responsibilities to consider. Join the Standard Insurance Company for perspectives on how districts’ HR and finance departments are exposed to liability within sponsored 457b/401a retirement plan, and how to navigate it.

This presentation will offer best practices for special districts to reduce plan sponsor liability when offering these types of optional retirement plan benefits.

Join for a perspective on the importance of special districts’ intergovernmental collaboration with county, state, and federal partners. This 60-minute presentation will breakdown some nuances of connecting with each type of government, items to consider with context of current issues, as well as when and how to strike with engagement.