(The Center Square) – A Seattle City Council Committee is directing Mayor Katie Wilson to make a recommendation by Aug. 1 as to the fate of the troubled King County Regional Homeless Authority.
The resolution approved by the council’s Human Services, Labor and Economic Development Committee on Friday mirrors action taken by the Metropolitan King County Council on May 5, which directed King County Executive Girmay Zahilay to make the same decision.
Wilson could recommend killing the agency, keeping it in its current form or restructuring it under the terms of the resolution.
Both Wilson and Zahilay have said they have serious concerns about an April forensic audit that found the agency couldn’t fully account for $13 million in funds and was running a $45 million deficit.
Either Wilson or Zahilay could kill the authority, founded in 2019 to address the region’s homeless crisis. The City Council and County Council also have the power to shut down the authority.
“Following the KCRHA forensic evaluation, we are bringing forward this resolution to establish a clear framework for accountability, oversight, and transparency as the City evaluates next steps,” said Council members Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dionne Foster, who sponsored the city council resolution.
Rinick and Foster are chairwoman and co-chairwoman of the Human Services, Labor and Economic Development Committee. They both also serve on the board of directors of the KCRHA.
The King County Regional Homeless Authority is scheduled to provide a detailed response to the April audit to both city and King County officials by May 23.
The resolution approved Friday requires that, by June 15, the Mayor’s Office provide the chair of the Human Services, Labor and Economic Development Committee with an initial assessment of the corrective action plan submitted by the KCRHA.
It then sets Aug. 1 as the date Wilson must decide on its future. Wilson would ultimately have the power to end the agency, even if King County officials don’t go along.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Wilson, Sage Wilson, did not respond to requests for comment on the mayor’s views about continuing the commission.
Seattle contributes 60% of the agency’s approximate $200 million budget and would have to run all of its homeless programs directly if the commission were dissolved.
Friday’s City Council committee resolution is expected to go to the full council for a vote in early June.
