Is It Time To Dismantle The King County Regional Homelessness Authority?

A recent audit found that the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) was unable to account for millions in public funds. Now local elected officials are calling for accountability and even the total dissolution of the agency. 

The City of Seattle and King County established KCRHA in 2019 with the lofty goal of solving homelessness with a regional approach. More than half a decade later, Seattle is still the main funder of KCRHA, pouring hundreds of thousands into an agency that amounts to another, rather dysfunctional layer of bureaucracy to (poorly) manage contracts with nonprofits with the perverse incentive to land grant money than to actually solve homelessness. 

The audit, sometimes called a “forensic evaluation,” found that KCRHA lost track of millions of dollars, with the Seattle Times reporting at least $8 million missing and TV news saying $13 million. Either way, some local lawmakers think it’s time to cut Seattle and King County’s losses. Seattle City Council Member Maritza Rivera and King County Council Member Rod Dembowski both issued statements Wednesday calling for the dissolution of KCRHA. 

Rivera, “shocked and outraged” by the finding wrote, “KCRHA has a history of dysfunction and inefficiency, and it is time to acknowledge that it has failed in its mission.”

Similarly, Dembowski said “It’s now time for elected officials to bring this failed experiment to an end.”

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson signaled her openness to KCRHA’s demise as well. 

“Addressing homelessness is my highest priority, and I have serious concerns about KCRHA’s management of city funds,” Wilson wrote in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “We need to take swift action to protect public dollars. All options are on the table.”

But for now, KCRHA still has a chance to correct. Wilson sent a joint letter with King County Executive Girmay Zahilay laying out some demands for KCRHA. The agency has until May 8 to provide a written response to its funders about how KCRHA will address the audit’s “high-risk findings.” Then KCRHA has until May 23 tt provide a written corrective action plan addressing other findings.