Seattle and King County to Restructure Homelessness Authority After Audit Found $13 Million Unaccounted For
Joy Ale
July 3, 2026
Seattle and King County to Restructure Homelessness Authority After Audit Found $13 Million Unaccounted For
Seattle and King County are downsizing the King County Regional Homelessness Authority after an independent review this spring found the agency couldn’t account for $13 million in public funds.
Mayor Katie Wilson and County Executive Girmay Zahilay announced a three-step plan Wednesday to stabilize the agency, which manages roughly $200 million a year in local, state and federal homelessness funding. A financial monitoring firm will be embedded inside KCRHA through the end of the year to oversee spending and contracts starting this month.
If city and county councils approve the plan, most local service-provider contracts will move back under city and county control next year, leaving KCRHA responsible mainly for federal Continuum of Care funding, the annual Point in Time Count, and emergency weather shelter.
“We’re taking decisive action to address KCRHA’s challenges while maintaining the continuity of the critical services they administer,” Wilson said. Zahilay said years of leadership turnover and repeated audits made clear the agency needed a reset, though he still believes homelessness requires a regional response.
Not everyone agrees on how far the plan goes. County Council Member Reagan Dunn said the county needs to reverse course on its broader homelessness policies, not just restructure one agency. City Council Member Robert Kettle warned that stepping back from a regional approach could cost the city federal funding and years of progress. KCRHA CEO Dr. Kelly Kinnison acknowledged the agency fell short of expectations, but cautioned against fully dissolving it, pointing to investments already made in data systems.
Homelessness has continued to climb under KCRHA’s watch up 9% regionally since 2024, with unsheltered homelessness rising 21% over the same period.
Neither Wilson nor Zahilay is calling this a full dissolution of the agency. Both say the goal is a narrower, more accountable KCRHA and not the end of it.
