| Welcome to the latest issue of The Districts, where we chronicle the people, issues and activities impacting special districts across the U.S. Get the 2019 Special Districts Annual Report Find out how your peers are tackling today’s job critical issues while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. Our new Special District’s Annual Report for 2019 summarizes a year’s worth of insights and best practices collected from special district leaders across the nation. Download your copy of the 2019 Annual Report today to see: How districts are tackling real-world issues such as modernizing key systems and processes, building and maintaining skilled workforces, and strengthening security and business continuity. How evolving citizen expectations around user experience and privacy will impact your district in the future. Results and analysis from our 2019 national Special Districts Survey. In-depth case studies on how special districts in key areas such as water, power, transportation, housing, parks, fire, ports and libraries are using technology to address their most pressing challenges. Register for our 2020 Kickoff Webcast The future is arriving faster than ever — driven by exponential technological and behavioral changes in society. Find out how these changes will impact the way you manage and secure infrastructure, recruit and retain employees, and serve your customers. Register today and join us March 26 for an interactive virtual summit that will identify technology trends to watch for in 2020, offer actionable advice from innovative special district leaders, and give a first look at Special District Program events for this year. Get Ready for Special Districts Summit West Make your plans to attend our first live summit of 2020. We’re heading to the Disney Paradise Pier Hotel in Anaheim, Calif., on June 10. Register now for a day of interactive discussion and networking that will help your district lay the foundation for the future. District Spotlight: Free Rides in Kansas City The transit authority in Kansas City, Mo., will eliminate bus fares for all riders this year. Officials at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) plan to phase out the transit system’s $1.50 bus fare systemwide in an effort to remove barriers that keep residents from using public transit to commute to work, run errands and more. Public transit “needs to be woven into the fabric of the community as a whole,” says Robbie Makinen, president and CEO of KCATA. He says health care, housing, education and other quality-of-life factors are intricately linked to transportation and transit. Fares make up about 8 percent of KCATA’s $100 million budget, says Makinen, and once the costs associated with collecting and counting the money are taken into consideration, “it’s not really $8 million. It’s less.” Besides removing a potential barrier for riders, eliminating fares will speed up boarding times and reduce the potential for disputes between drivers and riders, KCATA officials say. Read the whole story here. More Articles Worth a Read Here are more stories from special districts around the country. Share your own news with us for inclusion in the next newsletter. The Contra Costa County Transportation Authority in the San Francisco Bay Area will partner with a local school district to teach students how to repair autonomous vehicles. The authority will work with Local Motors, a maker of small autonomous electric shuttles, to teach technical skills to high school students in the Pittsburg (Calif.) Unified School District. A northern California fire district wants to use drones to monitor fires and identify excess vegetation in wildland areas. The Southern Marin Fire Protection District recently began seeking community approval for a drone program it has been developing for the past three years. The nation’s first fleet of driverless mass transit shuttles has officially hit the streets in Ohio. Electric-powered, autonomous shuttles began operating in the South Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 5. | 