The data centers are coming: The role of local governments

The foundation: Engagement for local governments

Before a utility can begin its technical outreach, the municipality or county must establish the community’s "why." Because local governments hold the keys to zoning and land-use approvals, they are the primary architects of the public narrative. To lead effectively, local governments should take these engagement steps upfront:

1. Align internally: Ensure economic development, planning, and the utility are in constant communication. Public trust erodes the moment a developer is promised a site that the utility hasn’t yet vetted for water capacity.

2. Define community benefits: If a data center is coming, what is the community getting in return? Whether it is a diversified tax base that funds schools or a new regional park, the local government must connect the project to tangible resident benefits.

3. Modernize public participation: Data centers move faster than traditional industrial projects. Local governments should move from reactive public hearings to proactive open houses where residents can ask about noise, light pollution, and water use before a project is even on the planning commission’s agenda.

4. Require developer accountability: Local governments have the leverage to require developers to participate in the engagement process. Make community outreach and transparency regarding resource usage a condition of the development agreement.

By setting this stage at the local government level, the community conversation shifts from "Why is this happening to us?" to "How are we managing this together?"  

[[CTA:subscribe]]

Tactical execution tips

Beyond these overarching strategies, local governments, in collaboration with their water utility should ensure they have the following tools to implement a strategic communications approach.  

1. Create a Master Message Platform that everyone, from your Board chair to your utility’s customer service representatives, use to ensure consistency, as this will build or fortify trust. Your tone should be reassuring, firm, and empathetic. Stick to facts and be specific and transparent. All staff, from the leadership of the locality to the utility field personnel, must be given a brief, fact-checked Q&A sheet with the key messages. They must be trained to express empathy and immediately direct deeper inquiries to the designated spokesperson/website.

2. Create your data center communications toolkit, such as a dedicated web page, linked from your home page. This page should host all facts, legal references, and detailed FAQs. This becomes the home base for all social media references. Consider proactively sending a letter or postcard to every resident. Do not wait for them to see the news. Start the communication with empathy ("We know you have questions...") and immediately pivot to the facts. Offer your leader in partnership with the local utility leader to local media for an interview so they can share the inner details. Discuss your development decision process, zoning, infrastructure, capacity planning, and financial planning. Create an animated “explainer” video that helps demystify each entity’s role in – and response to – approved development, no matter what it is.

Remember that data centers are here to stay. This is not an issue that will die down or go away if you ignore it. It’s the kind of issue that can decay trust in your agency for years to come. Addressing concerns and misinformation early on and engaging community members fortifies that trust. So, create a plan now for your reaction when tech companies come knocking on your door. Plan to share information with your community proactively, fully, and factually. Add information to your website and incorporate into the social media content calendar; provide opportunities for your community to be heard and track and respond to concerns.