HONOLULU (Eagle News) – The City and County of Honolulu launched on Thursday, September 10, a new virtual dashboard that allows the public to view in real time the progress of allocating and spending federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We must quickly and effectively spend our CARES fund to help individuals and businesses who are struggling as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “A new virtual dashboard is an important step for providing the public with greater transparency so they can understand where our recovery dollars are going, including to our Small Business Relief and Recovery Fund, and other important community programs.”

The dashboard, which can be seen on oneoahu.org/dashboard, indicates that 35% of the $387 million of CARES allocation to the City and County of Honolulu has been committed and  spent and that small business assistance represents 66% of the CARES funds distributed into the Oahu community to date.

The CARES Act Funding Distribution Dashboard demonstrates the City and County of Honolulu’s use of funds to date and is updated on a weekly basis. Funding status are as follows: “In Development”, “Allocated Funds”, “Committed”, and “Spent.”

The CARES Act was approved on March 27, 2020. The law called for a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund, which included an allocation for the State of Hawaii of $1.25 billion, of which $387 million had been provided to the City and County of Honolulu.

(With reports from EBC Hawaii Bureau, Eagle News Service)