(The Center Square) – Seattle and King County officials are so concerned by an audit of the county Regional Homeless Authority that they might eliminate it.
City Councilwoman Maritza Rivera and King County Councilman Rob Dembrowski both said Thursday at a press conference that they will introduce resolutions in their respective legislative chambers to eliminate the authority.
“This latest forensic evaluation is just the last straw,” Rivera said. “The evaluation shows a mismanagement of funds that can no longer be tolerated. It is time to find a different way to make this very important work happen.”
And Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay gave officials of the King County Regional Homeless Authority until May 2 to explain what happened to a missing $13 million. That’s when they want a written response to a critical audit issued this week.
No funds missing
KCRHA CEO Kelly Kinnison insists that there has been no “misuse of funds.”
Instead, she blames poor financial management, which she stated that she is correcting as she reforms the agency.
“Our financial systems have also improved, though additional strengthening is still needed,” said Kinnison in a letter to the authority’s board. “Importantly, the audit did not identify evidence of fraud or misuse of funds.”
Kinnison took over the troubled authority in June 2024, which has an approximate yearly budget of $200 million. The auditor hired by the city of Seattle, Clark Nubar P.S., found that $8 million in funds to tackle homelessness could not be tracked at all.
The critical audit raised questions among politicians about whether the agency should exist at all. Seattle funds 58% of the authority’s budget, with the remaining funds from King County, state, and federal sources.
Wilson, who sits on the authority’s board, said in her blog that all options are on the table for continuing the regional effort to reduce homelessness.
“Addressing homelessness is my highest priority, and I have serious concerns about KCRHA’s management of city funds,” she said.
Prior problems
The homeless authority was founded in 2019 and has been the subject of prior audits that have found financial mismanagement.
Dembrowski echoed Rivera’s comments about financial mismanagement but also said the agency had failed in its core mission to shelter people. He cited an increase in homelessness on Seattle streets and in King County.
Dembrowski said the agency was founded with the positive intent of tackling homelessness, but “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Two Seattle Council members, who serve on the KCHRA board, also issued joint critical statements about the authority, but stopped short of calling for its end.
“The findings are serious, unacceptable and demand immediate action and accountability,” said Dionne Foster and Alexis Mercedes Rinck.
The audit also showed that KCRHA had a negative cash position of $44.7 million between December 2023 and July 31, 2025. It also identified an administrative operating deficit of roughly $4.26 million, including $1.26 million in unrecoverable interest charges.
Former Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, who served on the KCRHA board in 2024 and 2025, said in an interview with The Center Square that the agency should be abolished.
“This is about accountability,” she said. “In the moment of increased scrutiny over the use of public funds in King County and also Seattle, I think the future of KCHRA is going to come down to the political will of the agency’s funders.”
The agency was founded by the city of Seattle and King County.
She also noted that council members Rinck and Foster, who serve on the authority’s board, are not calling for its disbandment.
“No surprise, as in general they’re committed to ‘progressive revenue,’ (collecting more taxes) instead of spending/ending ineffective programs,” she said.
Brad Harwood, a city council spokesman, said there would be no additional comment beyond the council members’ statement.
Between 2022 and 2024, Seattle and King County provided the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) with over $260 million to combat homelessness. Despite this funding, a recent evaluation revealed severe financial issues within the agency.
The evaluation showed that KCRHA compounded a $44.7 million negative cash position between December 2023 and July 31, 2025. It also identified an administrative operating deficit of roughly $4.26 million, including $1.26 million in unrecoverable interest charges.
