Seattle and King County leaders are demanding urgent action after the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s audit.
SEATTLE — A forensic audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority revealed approximately $13 million unaccounted for, leading city and county officials to call for action and even the dismantling of the program.
The third-party forensic audit reviewed the KCRHA’s finances from mid-2021 through July 31, 2025. It was commissioned by King County and the City of Seattle.
Results show the King County Regional Homelessness Authority cannot account for approximately $13 million, which is made up of a growing interest of $1.26 million in the King County investment pool interest, $8 million in receivables and $4.26 million in administrative overspend, according to the audit.
The homelessness authority also had reoccurring negative cash positions, including up to $44.7 million as of July 2025.
The KCRHA was established in 2019 to coordinate policy, funding and services for homeless people in King County.
The audit was requested following leadership turnover, delayed payments, unverified account, overspending and cash flow challenges, according to Mayor Katie Wilson.
The City of Seattle “will be pursuing immediate corrective action,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
“Addressing homelessness is my highest priority, and I have serious concerns about KCRHA’s management of city funds,” Wilson said. “We need to take swift action to protect public dollars. All options are on the table.”
CEO Kelly Kinnison, who took on her role in June 2024, explained some of the audit’s findings in a letter to the KCRHA Governing Board.
“The findings are concentrated in KCRHA’s early formation period and reflect structural challenges associated with startup conditions, the pandemic response, an initially fragmented governance framework, and a highly complex funding model,” Kinnison said in the letter.
As for the $8 million in unreconciled receivables, Kinnison said a substantial portion of that money has been identified and work is underway toward a solution.
She said the administrative overspend is due to a budget reclassification, “rather than unapproved or inappropriate spending.”
The KCRHA’s negative cash balance, which the audit said were reoccurring since December 2023, were “driven by both the structure of the reimbursement funding model — where providers are paid in advance, and reimbursement to KCRHA follows — and gaps in earlier financial processes,” Kinnison said.
Cash management strengthening and financial reporting are top priorities, she said.
Local leaders react
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the audit raises “serious, concerning questions” about the financial innerworkings of the program.
“We have a responsibility to ensure this system delivers results — operating with greater efficiency, full transparency, and strong accountability for every public dollar entrusted to us,” Zahilay said in a statement. “I’m committed to identifying immediate concrete next steps to achieve better financial oversight and stewardship in short order to help stabilize KCRHA, ensure that enhanced, transparent fiscal controls are in place, and that KCRHA maintains the continuity of service that King County taxpayers, service providers, and service recipients need.”
Seattle City Council members are speaking out about the audit’s findings, with councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7) called them “damning.”
“It shows an epic, and consistent, failure of leadership at the top of the agency — especially at its start. It also reveals the failure of leadership of the county and city,” Kettle said in a statement. “The audit reveals troubling systemic issues that can no longer be ignored if we are to address the homelessness and public safety crisis in Seattle effectively.”
Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) said the audit shows an “egregious mismanagement” of money. Rivera requested Mayor Wilson begin dismantling the program as soon as possible.
Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Pos. 8) and Councilmember Dionne Foster (Pos. 9) in a joint statement said the audit findings are “unacceptable and demand immediate action and accountability.”
King County Council member Rod Dembowski said it is “time for elected officials to bring this failed experiment to an end.” He said the responsibly of addressing homelessness should be given to the City of Seattle, King County and partnering cities to “eliminate this expensive and ineffective layer of government.”
The audit findings will be presented to KCRHA’s Governing Board on Friday, April 24.
Additional audit findings
A lack of detail in records, lengthy delays in reimbursements and inconsistent budget oversight were observations noted in the audit.
Aside from the unaccounted $13 million, “significant infusions” of cash through advanced payments from the City of Seattle had not been properly tracked.
The KCRHA also had major delays in its invoicing, such as a 16-month delays invoicing the City’s January 2023 billing period and another year-long delay invoicing King County’s November 2023 billing period.
The audit found invoice submissions were delayed more than 30 days beyond the period end date for over 26% of the City’s invoices and nearly 58% of King County’s invoices. These delays made it difficult for management to “monitor and forecast cash flows in a timely manner,” the audit stated.
The audit said the KCRHA must identify what the $8 million represents and whether it is a collectible.
The homelessness authority has until May 8 to provide a written response to King County’s Department of Community and Human Services and the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department about how it will address the audit findings.
It must also develop a plan for how to address overspending, financial inconsistencies and improving its accounting records by May 23.
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