A forensic review of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority found major financial and operational failures, including a $44.7 million negative cash position that built from December 2023 through July 31, 2025, and a $13 million sum the mayor’s office said the agency could not account for. Seattle and King County leaders reacted Wednesday with calls for sweeping change, and Seattle Councilmember Maritza Rivera said she was shocked and outraged by the findings.
The review, commissioned by the City of Seattle and King County in August 2025 and conducted by a Bellevue-based accounting firm, examined the agency from its inception through mid-2025. It identified an administrative operating deficit of about $4.26 million, including roughly $1.26 million in interest charges that were not believed to be recoverable. The findings landed with unusual force because Seattle and King County had already supplied more than $260 million to the authority for 2022, 2023 and 2024, with Seattle’s vested interest reaching as high as $113 million in 2024.
Rivera called for the authority to be dismantled and urged Mayor Katie Wilson to present a plan to do so while working with the Seattle City Council on how the city will move forward in addressing homelessness. She also repeated her call for a separate audit of the city’s human services contracts. King County Councilman Rod Dembowski echoed her concerns, while Seattle Councilmember Bob Kettle criticized the agency’s leadership and broader oversight.
Kettle said the findings show systemic problems that must be fixed if Seattle is to respond effectively to homelessness, and he called for stronger financial oversight and operational transparency while keeping a regional approach. Seattle councilmembers Alexis Mercedes-Rinck and Dionne Foster said every misstep revealed in the audit represents another missed opportunity to prevent further trauma in streets and neighborhoods across the region, and that the homelessness emergency still demands strong regional coordination across Seattle and King County. King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the forensic audit raises serious concerns about the agency’s financial management and accountability.
The audit followed years of pressure on the authority, including concerns about leadership turnover, delayed payments, state auditor findings, unverified accounting practices and cash flow problems. Seattle and King County have now issued a letter outlining required corrective actions and said they will increase oversight. The report leaves the authority facing a stark choice in January 2026, when Seattle councilmembers Alexis Mercedes-Rinck and Dionne Foster hold two of the city’s four seats on the KCRHA Governing Board: accept tighter control and prove it can manage public money, or face an argument from its critics that the regional body has lost the trust needed to keep operating.