CARES Act Fund Reporting: Accounting for Every Dollar

About the Program

Category: Financial Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

As one of the first counties in the nation to be hit by COVID-19, Pierce County needed accurate and timely information for pandemic response. The County built a comprehensive public-facing report and dashboard to track $158 million in federal CARES Act funding. The report was built upon the County’s values of accountability and transparency, and was instrumental in allowing County leadership to meet the needs of our residents. The report included information on COVID-19 disease activity; CARES Act funding allocations, expenditures, and spend projections; outcomes of outreach programs; and local economic indicators. Spending could be closely tracked and reallocated when needed. This allowed Pierce County to expend more than $65 million towards the County’s public health response, $46 million to economic and recovery programs, $33 million to community response programs, and $13 million to essential government services by the end of 2020. Weekly updates allowed leaders to gauge the demand for programs and ensure funding reached residents. Increased transparency and access to real time data kept the public and community stakeholders informed. The CARES Act Funding Report is an excellent example of how local governments can analyze and use data to manage a more effective response during emergencies.