First District Association tells Codington County commissioners it helped bring millions in grants, pushes online permitting

Todd Kays, executive director of the First District Association of Local Governments, presented the association's annual report to the Codington County Commission on Feb. 10, outlining the regional agency's grant work, GIS services and plans to transition to online building-permit processing.

Kays said the association, which serves 11 counties including Codington County, helped facilitate about $27 million in federal grants into the region last year and has helped bring roughly $324 million into the region during his tenure. For Codington County specifically, he said the office helped secure roughly $7 million in grants and loans this year.

"We're not government, but we're creatures of government," Kays told commissioners, describing the association as a regional council that provides technical assistance, grant packaging and project administration. He said the organization relies on a mix of dues, state and federal grants and fee-for-service contracts and currently employs nine people.

Kays outlined core services the association provides to local governments: grant and loan application packaging at no charge to members, project administration when awards are made, planning and research (nuisance regulations, capital improvement plans, pre-disaster mitigation planning), and GIS and parcel data hosting used by county zoning and assessor offices.

He said the association operates three revolving loan funds holding about $4 million that can be lent to private businesses to spur job creation, and noted the office's GIS capacity supports parcel datasets, 9-1-1 hosting and other county systems.

Kays described a planned move to an online, GIS-based permitting platform for Codington County building permits over the coming year. He said the change would replace paper applications with a cloud-based system that allows applicants and county staff to track submittal dates and outstanding requirements, and would not be an added operating cost for the county.

He also urged commissioners to monitor and, if necessary, engage with pending state legislation that could affect county responsibilities and processes. "I hate it when the state decides that they think that they know what's best or how tall we should cut our grass in Codington County," Kays said, urging local contact with legislators and noting the County Commissioners Association would provide guidance on specific bills.

The presentation closed with commissioners thanking Kays and the association for its regional work and noting ongoing cooperation on GIS, parcel hosting and local planning projects. The commission did not take separate action on the presentation.