(The Center Square) – The big unknown in the restructuring of the King County Regional Homeless Authority is whether it will give local officials a better chance of retaining the appropriate $65 million in federal funding it receives.
July 3 is the deadline for the authority to apply for its 2027 round of federal funding, and local officials say they want to put their best foot forward in efforts to secure new funds.
The Trump administration on June 11 barred Los Angeles County’s main homelessness agency from accessing federal funds while it investigates the agency’s alleged “wanton mismanagement of public funds.”
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay mentioned Los Angeles and the Trump administration’s actions in announcing the significant restructuring of the King County Regional Homeless Authority on Wednesday.
While no one has accused the King County authority of outright fraud, a forensic audit found fiscal mismanagement at the troubled authority, including losing track of $8 million dollars.
Zahilay said he hoped the restructuring would show federal officials that they are taking action to clear up problems, unlike the situation in Los Angeles.
“Inaction by local authorities and perceptions of mismanagement and fraud were the driving reasons that the agency was defunded by the federal government, and we want to make sure those perceptions are minimized here,” he said.
Zahilay said he hoped the restructuring will “put us in the strongest possible position to receive those funds.”
The restructuring of the six-year-old authority will return the administration of contracts for homeless housing to the city of Seattle and King County
But the slimmed-down authority will still serve as the conduit for federal funds, which make up a little less than a third of its budget.
But even if HUD does not look at past management issues with the authority, new federal guidelines could jeopardize some of the homeless funding for King County and Seattle.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said he is moving away from a policy that focuses on funding permanent housing for the unhoused to one that provides funds for temporary housing as a bridge to get people off government relief rolls.
A federal judge in Rhode Island on June 30 struck down the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s plan to overhaul federal homeless funding.
The court ruled the sudden mandate cutting funds for “housing first” programs was unlawful because the agency failed to consider the resulting harm or follow standard administrative procedure.
HUD officials did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for comment on future funding for the King County Regional Homeless Authority and the court ruling.
But Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who joined Zahilay in announcing the restructuring of the authority on Wednesday, acknowledged that trouble could be ahead.
Wilson said the homeless authority is committed to submitting the strongest possible application for new federal funds for the homeless.
The authority has used past federal funds to create permanent housing for the homeless, a priority that doesn’t align with the Trump administration.
“I think it’s no secret we have a target on our backs because of our values,” she said. “So, obviously also preparing for a situation where we lose some or all of that funding.”
