Transparency in County CARES Act Spending Underwhelms in Missouri

The CARES Act of March 2020 allocated over $2 trillion to individuals, state and local governments, small businesses, and others nationwide. The intention was to provide relief not only for individuals and businesses, but also to state and local governments who were hit hard by the government mandated lockdowns that had devastated the economy during the COVID-19 crisis.

This report is concerned with the ways in which Missouri counties spent the funds they received as a result of the CARES Act, as well as how each county reported its expenditures. The Institute used Sunshine Law inquiries to request CARES Act expense report sheets from every county in Missouri. Unfortunately, gaps in data created by non-responses from some counties and limited descriptions of spending from the counties that did respond illustrate yet again that state and local governments in Missouri have a long way to go to meet the transparency obligations they have when they spend taxpayer money.

Click here to read the full report.