(The Center Square) – King County Executive Girmay Zahilay says he will ask a working group to explore a tax levy that would allow voters to decide whether they would be willing to pay more taxes to build housing for the homeless.
Zahilay didn’t offer much detail on the levy when he first announced it at a press conference on March 31. He said he wanted to ensure the levy helps overall affordability because King County property owners are facing rising costs.
“It is so important that we include this factor, because people are really feeling the pain of cost of living right now,” he said, “and taxes play a major role in that.”
King County spokesperson Callie Craighead said Thursday that the working group is still being formed and will start convening next month.
“We do not have a date for when a potential levy could appear on the ballot – the workgroup will be tasked with making that recommendation,” she said.
She said that Zahilay wants to be “very intentional about any new taxes, recognizing the current tax sensitivity in our communities.”
Craighead said, unlike Seattle, which has a long-standing housing tax levy, King County has no such measure.
Sales tax funding
King County currently funds some of the housing being built for the homeless by a 0.1% sales tax approved in 2020.
The potential tax levy is part of an executive order by Zahilay called the “500-Day Plan.” Its aim is to address the Seattle region’s housing crisis by building 500 new shelter and housing units within the next year and a half.
As part of the executive order, Zahilay said he has directed staff to catalog all vacant county land that can be quickly converted into housing or shelter sites.
Zahilay’s plan coincides with a parallel push by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, but her plan is on a faster track. Wilson wants to open 500 shelter beds, mostly in so-called tiny home villages, before Seattle hosts the World Cup game on June 15.
Overall, the mayor’s plan calls for 1,000 units of housing for the homeless this year and 4,000 in four years.
In King County, Zahilay’s plan calls for the 500 new units of housing to include emergency shelter beds, permanent supportive housing and subsidized affordable housing.
The 500 units would be an addition to the more than 1,700 the county has committed to build by 2028.
Some of the 500 new units would be in Seattle while others would be spread throughout the county.
Homeless authority concerns
Zahilay had ordered the County Department of Community and Human Services and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority to direct efforts for the new units. The authority was the subject of a critical audit by the Washington State Auditor’s Office in November 2025.
The audit found that the agency was assessed $605,631 in overdraft interest fees for maintaining a negative cash balance in 9 of 12 months in 2024.
As of August 2025, the audit found that KCRHA’s interest expenses of $849,851 exceeded its interest earnings for the year. By the end of 2025, the auditor projected that KCRHA would end with a negative cash balance exceeding $30 million.
In response to the auditor, the agency said it was working to address issues. It attributed the interest fees to the fact that it provides funding for housing services first and then waits for reimbursement from King County and the City of Seattle.
In late 2025, the authority announced it was laying off 22% of its staff.
Authority officials would not immediately comment. The authority is funded by King County and the city of Seattle.
