It’s no secret around these parts that we think the CARES Act has been beneficial for local governments. Last year, we started to talk about how this pandemic-related government aid was being used to get records digitized. We also talked about how the funding was being used for other technology projects. Finally, we tried to sound the alarm that the time was running out to use these funds.
We’ve learned a few things from following this topic over the last several months. One is that there may be more funding on the way. The $1.9T stimulus bill that the Biden administration is proposing contains $350B for state, local, and tribal governments. While it remains to be seen whether the final bill passes, and in what form, it’s clear that there will be some amount of additional funding that could improve efficiencies and reduce reliance on in-person work.
The other is that local governments really were able to take advantage of this program to update their technology. It’s one thing to hear anecdotal stories from our customers who were able to use some of their relief funds to redact documents and make them available to constituents online to avoid in-person traffic, it’s another to see a wider swath of governments self-reporting on the impact.
A study of over 500 elected officials in cities and counties ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 people showed that 39% had used CARES Act funds for technology that improves worker productivity or better serves the community. An additional 22% of respondents said they were exploring the option, and would probably be prime candidates to do so in another round of stimulus.
While the numbers show that certainly not everyone was able to make investments in technology during the pandemic, it still looks like a large figure, particularly because 92% of respondents said that the pandemic and recession would lead to financial adjustments. Government revenues have, for the most part, been falling drastically over the course of the pandemic. More than 50% of survey respondents said that they were postponing capital projects, applying for grants, and putting a freeze on hiring, travel, or training.
These budget shortfalls have been a real problem for governments, but being able to use stimulus money on technology projects has allowed for governments to not only be resilient in the short term, but be better prepared for any future disruptions down the line.
Extract has helped primarily in getting records automatically indexed or redacted so they can be put online, and citizens can access the information they need without coming into government offices. This also frees up government employees’ time that may have otherwise been taken up by walk-in records requests. If you’d like to learn more about our services or how county governments have used CARES Act funding to pay for our services, please reach out.
About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.