First District Review Highlights Decades of Regional Cooperation and Infrastructure Growth

Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - Todd Kays, Executive Director of the First District Association of Local Governments, presented a comprehensive 2025 annual review to the Codington County Commissioners on Tuesday, underscoring a partnership that has funneled over $324 million in grants and loans into the region during his 17-year tenure.

Describing the unique organizational structure of the First District—a voluntary association of 11 counties and 76 communities—Kays stated, “We’re not government, but we’re creatures of government”. He noted that the association serves as a cost-effective alternative to the private sector by leveraging the “power of the collective” to provide professional planning and technical assistance.

The First District’s impact in Codington County is primarily visible through its management of critical emergency and data infrastructure, including:

·         Emergency Systems: Management of 911 GIS databases and E-911 addressing.

·         Regional Data: Upkeep of county road centerline datasets and GIS parcel information.

·         Planning: Providing specialized zoning services and drafting the County’s SD DOT Bridge and Highway Plan.

Kays emphasized the District’s role as a vital link between local needs and high-level funding. “We don’t have the dollars,” Kays explained. “We know the doors to knock on and we are that conduit that acts between those state and federal funders and our members”.

The meeting also touched on future efficiencies, including a transition to a GIS-based online permitting system.

Kays compared the ease of the upcoming digital platform to modern e-commerce, stating, “It’s no different than going onto Amazon and buying a power drill. It works out really smooth.” 

He concluded by urging commissioners to protect local authorities against state-level overreach. “I’ve been a local control advocate for years,” Kays said. “I hate it when the state decides that they think that they know what’s best on how tall we should cut our grass in Codington County.”