With Transparent Idaho, here’s how to track where Idaho’s CARES Act funding is being spent

When State Controller Brandon Woolf started Transparent Idaho — a website tracking Idaho state government expenditures — in 2012, all data were displayed in PDF form.

“The closest thing to a data sorting mechanism,” Woolf said, was “control+f.”

After seven years and a massive allocation of $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act funding to the state of Idaho, visitors can use the site’s data visualization tools and search capacities to track every dime Gov. Brad Little’s Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee, known as CFAC, has allocated to small businesses and local governments — and how much has actually been given out.

After Idaho’s CARES funding was made available, Little approved recommendations from the advisory committee May 4 that the state allocate $300 million in grants to small businesses hurt by COVID-19 and roughly $150 million to state, local and tribal communities.

The recommended allocations were based on estimates submitted by each government or agency predicting the amount necessary for expenses related to the coronavirus.

But data from Transparent Idaho show that only a small portion of the allocated funds has actually been distributed so far. To receive allocated funding, businesses, local and tribal governments and state agencies must first apply for them by submitting detailed expense reports.

All CARES Act funding must be allocated by Dec. 31, when any remaining funds from the original $1.25 billion return to the federal government.

According to Transparent Idaho, as of July 2 only 18% — $56.7 million — of the allocated $300 million has been sent to small businesses.

Advisory committee chairman Alex Adams predicts that not all of the $300 million allocation will be distributed by December. Already, Little has reallocated $100 million of the lump sum to return to work bonuses, cash grants of up to $1,500 provided to workers who return to their workplaces.

Of the $44 million allocated to Idaho counties, only $31,000 — less than 1% — has been distributed. Less than 1% of the $42 million allocated to cities and the $57.7 million allocated to state agencies has been distributed, as of July 2.

When will CARES Act allocation pick up?

Woolf attributed the gap between allocations and expenditures for state and local governments to a slowdown caused by the May 19 primary election. Now that the election is over, Woolf expects applications for reimbursements to pick up.

Woolf’s office has been working to field the incoming reimbursement requests and put them up on Transparent Idaho. As of July 1, there were 165 applications awaiting processing, Woolf said.

Adams said the state Tax Commission income tax filing deadline on June 15 slowed request processing, but that agencies and small businesses who apply for reimbursements can expect to see their requests addressed in several days.

From the original $1.25 billion allocated to Idaho, $440 million remains unallocated. Adams said the state is holding some funding in reserve for “extraordinary circumstances,” such as the recent spike in coronavirus cases statewide.

“When we determined the allocations to state and local governments, we tried to provide agencies with a cushion,” Adams said. “ So at this point, I don’t see a need to dig into that $440 million.”

Local governments have expressed that they won’t spend all the funds allocated to them, Adams said. Allocated funds that have not been distributed by Dec. 30 will be placed in an unemployment insurance trust fund at the end of the year.

Besides allowing users to track state allocations and expenditures, the site also lists what the federal dollars have been used to purchase. Roughly 58% of expenditures to local governments and agencies have gone to computer equipment and services, like laptops, webcams and Zoom software, according to Transparent Idaho records. About 63% of this funding has been given to the judicial branch.

Little originally proposed the idea of making Idaho’s CARES Act spending publicly available on Transparent Idaho, Woolf said. For Woolf, allowing taxpayers to see clearly where their dollars are being spent is crucial to rebuilding trust in government.

“Just having a publicly accessible data dump is one thing,” Woolf said. “But when we can put more context behind it and add data visualization tools and advanced search mechanisms, then we can get citizens looking into the data and asking questions. Then we have a much more engaged citizenry ... that makes for great government.”

Adams lauded Little and Woolf for their efforts.

“(The governor) knows that are federal dollars are public taxpayer dollars, and need to be used prudently and judiciously,” he said. “We’ve had a tremendous partnership with Controller Woolf and we appreciate the extraordinary work and hours his team has put into making Transparent Idaho a success.”