Two councilmembers are now drafting companion resolutions to formally dissolve the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
SEATTLE — King County and Seattle elected officials are pushing to dismantle the Regional Homelessness Authority after a new audit found the agency cannot account for $13 million in public funds. Elected leaders call it the latest in a string of financial and operational failures since the agency’s founding in 2019.
King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski said the audit’s findings raised serious concerns, even without a definitive finding of wrongdoing.
“The state of the record keeping is apparently so bad that while they didn’t find fraud, they couldn’t assure us that there wasn’t any fraud,” he said.
The audit, covering 2021 through last year, revealed a continued pattern of mismanagement at the agency, which was created to coordinate the region’s response to homelessness. Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera highlighted how the authority has struggled with unpaid contractors, revolving-door leadership, and a trail of mismanaged funds.
“Unfortunately, we all know that the King County Regional Homelessness Authority has had problems, real problems, for years,” she said.
When asked why elected officials waited through years of systemic failures before moving to shut the agency down, Dembowski pointed partly to the pandemic.
“The pandemic — that slowed their start, so it was formed, it took them a while to stand up the operation,” he said.
But he made clear his patience had run out.
“Cats get nine lives, this organization has had 10, one more than it should have. It is time for it to go,” he added. “This organization has failed; failed to manage money responsibly and failed on the mission to reduce unsheltered homelessness.”
The two councilmembers are now drafting companion resolutions to formally dissolve the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
In West Seattle, volunteers with a community group called A Cleaner Alki continue clearing mud, debris, and the remnants of encampments from public spaces. Erik Bell, who helps lead the group, described what they recently found.
“There was just a lot of people living in the woods. It is just unfortunate,” he said.
Despite the grim conditions and new hurdles King County is facing, Bell expressed hope for real solutions.
“We’d love to see folks getting care and eventually housing,” he said.
In response to the audit, the agency’s CEO released a statement saying the findings did not identify evidence of fraud or misuse of funds, and that the audit instead highlights the need to upgrade financial systems, reporting practices, and internal controls.
The authority’s governing board is scheduled to discuss the audit during a special meeting Friday.
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