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Volusia County staff unveils new ECHO dashboard and microsite; committee presses for DCE transparency and mobile fixes
Summary
Staff demonstrated the new ECHO transparency dashboard and ExploreEchoForever microsite and reviewed quarterly project reports. Committee members praised the tools but raised concerns about mobile usability, font contrast for readability and visibility into direct county expenditure (DCE) project documentation and DCE budget share.
Volusia County staff demonstrated a new public dashboard and a companion microsite (exploreechoforever.com) intended to increase transparency for ECHO grant and Volusia Forever projects, and provided the committee with quarterly project updates.
The dashboard, built on county GIS, shows project counts, categories and status filters; staff said it is a version‑2 release and they will iterate further on mobile compatibility. "It is mobile compatible now, but we are constantly trying to improve it," Daniel said. Committee members tested the site during the meeting and requested changes to mobile layout and font contrast so information is legible on phones and tablets.
Staff also previewed a public microsite that includes an “Echo Explorer” chatbot to help users find projects by type or location and a rotating project spotlight. The site contains an interactive map and a news/announcements section; staff said the chatbot will be trained and improved as public use increases.
Quarterly reports and monitoring
Staff reminded the committee that the posted quarterly reports covered April–June and that staff is collecting the next set of reports due Oct. 15. Committee members asked about monitoring and where to find grantee compliance documentation; staff said monitoring is part of staff responsibilities and offered to attach the most recent monitoring report or the last quarterly report to each project entry on the dashboard in a future update. Staff said grantees submit quarterly and annual reports and that staff follows up when reports are missing.
Direct county expenditures (DCE)
Committee members raised repeated concerns about transparency and the level of committee review for Direct County Expenditure projects. Sabrina Slack, assistant county attorney, explained the program structure: ECHO was created by referendum and funds are held in two accounts (an advisory board fund and a DCE fund). "ECHO is funded through ad valorem taxation, so it's a tax. ... The funds that come through a tax can only be spent on the source of the tax," Slack said, and added that DCE projects are governed by the resolutions that created the funds. Staff said they will prepare a DCE handbook and a shorter county application form so the committee and public have clearer documentation on DCE project proposals and funding sources.
Committee reaction and next steps: committee members generally praised staff for the dashboard and microsite work but asked staff to prioritize (1) improved mobile usability, (2) attaching the latest monitoring or quarterly report to dashboard project records, and (3) publishing additional DCE documentation and the percentage of ECHO funds historically used for DCE projects. Staff said they will continue to iterate on the dashboard and provide additional DCE detail in future reports.
