Establishing Stormwater Utility Rogers

The City of Rogers is working to establish a dedicated stormwater utility to provide sustainable funding, strengthen flood resilience, and support responsible growth in one of the fastest‑growing regions in the United States. The FUSE Executive Fellow will help the City build the organizational, financial, legal, and public‑support framework necessary to transition from general‑fund stormwater management to a self‑sustaining utility model.

This is a two‑year fellowship, with Year One focused on discovery, utility design, stakeholder alignment, and implementation planning, and Year Two focused on advancing adoption, scaling organizational capacity, and embedding long‑term stormwater management systems within City operations.

Fellowship Dates: October 26, 2026 – October 20, 2028

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. This amount is not representative of market‑rate salaries for the experienced professionals in our program but is intended as compensation for a year of public service.

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full‑time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data‑driven and results‑oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects.

They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

Modern stormwater management is essential to protecting public safety, preserving property, supporting economic growth, and improving environmental quality. Across the United States, communities are experiencing increasingly frequent and severe rainfall events that place growing demands on aging drainage infrastructure and natural watershed systems. At the same time, municipalities face increasing regulatory requirements and rising costs associated with flood mitigation, infrastructure maintenance, water quality protection, and watershed restoration.

Dedicated stormwater utilities have emerged as a proven approach for creating sustainable funding mechanisms that align costs with system demand while providing communities with the resources needed to proactively manage long‑term stormwater challenges.

Rogers, Arkansas, is located within Northwest Arkansas, one of the fastest‑growing metropolitan regions in the country. The city has made significant progress in advancing stormwater management over the past several years and now possesses many of the technical foundations necessary for long‑term success.…