The review, commissioned by the City of Seattle and King County in August 2025, was conducted by a Bellevue-based accounting firm. It examined the agency’s operations from its inception through mid-2025, following existing concerns about the agency’s leadership turnover, delayed payments, state auditor findings, unverified accounting practices, and cash flow challenges.
The findings included a $44.7 million negative cash position, which compounded from December 2023 through July 31, 2025. The evaluation also identified an administrative operating deficit of approximately $4.26 million, which included around $1.26 million in interest charges that were not believed to be recovered.
According to the Mayor’s office the evaluation also found the agency was unable to account for about $13 million in public funds.
Budget information for 2022, 2023, and 2024 for KCRHA shows that Seattle and King County supplied over $260 million dollars in funding toward the agency’s efforts to curb homelessness.
It’s that vested interest, which was a high as $113 million dollars for the city of Seattle in 2024, that sparked outrage from some elected officials on Wednesday after reviewing the report.
Seattle Councilmember Maritza Rivera said she was “shocked and outraged” by the findings and is calling for the agency to be dismantled.
It shows an egregious mismanagement of funds and an unacceptable lack of financial accountability,” Rivera said in a statement. “KCRHA has a history of dysfunction and inefficiency, and it is time to acknowledge that it has failed in its mission.
Rivera urged Mayor Katie Wilson to present a plan to dismantle the agency and work with the Seattle City Council on how Seattle will move forward in addressing homelessness. She also reiterated her call for a separate audit of the city’s human services contracts.
King County Councilman Rod Dembowski echoed Rivera in a public statement, writing:
I was a skeptic of establishing the Regional Homelessness Authority from the beginning and successfully fought to amend the authorizing legislation to ensure that elected officials would remain in control and would oversee its budgets, and that it could be shut down if it failed. It’s now time for elected officials to bring this failed experiment to an end.
Mayor Wilson said the findings raise serious concerns and signaled that changes could be coming.
Addressing homelessness is my highest priority, and I have serious concerns about KCRHA’s management of city funds,” Wilson said in a statement. “We need to take swift action to protect public dollars. All options are on the table.
Councilmember Bob Kettle, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, also criticized the agency’s leadership and broader oversight.
The results of the recent King County Regional Homelessness Authority audit are damning,” Kettle said. “It shows an epic, and consistent, failure of leadership at the top of the agency —especially at its start. It also reveals the failure of leadership of the county and city. The audit reveals troubling systemic issues that can no longer be ignored if we are to address the homelessness and public safety crisis in Seattle effectively.
Kettle said the findings highlight systemic issues that must be addressed to effectively respond to homelessness in Seattle. He called for a renewed focus on financial oversight and operational transparency, while maintaining a regional approach to the crisis.
“We have a regional homelessness problem on the streets of Seattle,” Kettle said. “We need a unified, countywide approach that operates with a defined purpose, compassion, and accountability.”
Seattle City Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes-Rinck and Dionne Foster, issued a joint statement, emphasizing the importance of the organization’s work. The two have held two of Seattle’s four seats on the KCRHA Governing Board since January 2026.
“Every misstep revealed in this audit represents another missed opportunity to prevent further trauma in our streets and neighborhoods across the region. At the same time, the homelessness emergency continues to demand strong regional coordination to ensure an effective response across Seattle and King County.” they wrote in part of a longer statement.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said the forensic audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority raises serious concerns about the agency’s financial management and accountability. He said the county and Seattle have issued a letter outlining required corrective actions and will increase oversight as the agency works to address the findings.
The County Executive and Mayor Wilson both signed off on a letter to the CFO of the KCRHA, demanding a written response to the funders (HSD and DCHS) that includes how KCRHA will address multiple “high-risk” findings in the evaluation.
The letter goes on to also request that by May 23, 2026, KCRHA must provide a written corrective action plan addressing several additional findings, including implementation timelines.
The City and County also recommended four actions to the governing board of KCRHA
- Establish a financial oversight committee that meets biweekly and reports to the Governing Board monthly.
- Implement an immediate hiring freeze within KCRHA with a documented exception process.
- Implement an immediate freeze on discretionary spending until the freeze is released by the Board.
- Pause any new agreements that would increase costs or liability to the KCRHA.
Zahilay added he is focused on improving transparency, stabilizing the agency and ensuring services continue, while working with partners in the coming weeks to determine next steps and strengthen financial controls.