King County councilmembers call to dissolve regional homelessness authority after forensic review

Councilmembers Maritza Rivera and Rod Dembowski on Tuesday called for the dissolution of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), citing a recent forensic evaluation and prior audits that they said show persistent failures in financial management and stewardship of public dollars.

Rivera opened the press briefing by saying the authority “left contractors unpaid for months in 2023” and that “the evaluation shows a pattern of mismanagement of funds that can no longer be tolerated.” She said she and Dembowski will file companion resolutions asking city and county councils to begin an orderly unwind and plan a future regional approach that keeps cities and the county working together.

Dembowski, who introduced himself as chair of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee at the King County Council, recounted the authority’s six-year history and said audits and reviews in 2023 and a forensic evaluation through July 2025 show the entity “has failed” on both finances and its core mission. “This organization has had 10, 1 more than it should have. It's time for it to go,” he said, arguing that devolving responsibilities back to city and county governments will restore clearer lines of accountability.

Reporters pressed the officials on specifics. One asked what the replacement plan would look like a year from now; Rivera said that will depend on the mayor, the county executive and both councils working together. Dembowski said city and county governments are already taking action — citing mayoral and county executive orders and partnerships with providers such as The Salvation Army and DESC — and said local governments have stronger audit regimes and public-accountability mechanisms than the current structure.

On whether taxpayers should be worried, the officials said the situation was unacceptable. A reporter quoted numbers from recent reviews, saying “up to $13,000,000 of their money has been wasted”; Rivera and Dembowski repeated that they found the accounting and record-keeping unacceptable and therefore are asking for dissolution and increased oversight. Dembowski added that he had not yet seen evidence of criminal conduct in financial reviews but that the record-keeping was sufficiently poor that reviewers could not rule out fraud; he said he will introduce legislation to create a county inspector general to enable investigations if necessary.

Asked why leaders were acting now after years of concern, Dembowski cited pandemic-related delays in standing up the authority, several audits beginning in 2023 that promised fixes, and the latest forensic evaluation saying the problems remain unresolved. He also acknowledged that the authority has delivered some shelter and housing and “saved lives,” but said its overall track record on accountability does not justify continuing the current structure.

Rivera and Dembowski emphasized no formal dissolution will happen overnight: they said their companion resolutions would be introduced to the city and county councils and that the interlocal agreement contains a legal process that can start an up-to-12-month unwind if the respective councils adopt motions or resolutions. They said they had opened conversations with the mayor’s and county executive’s offices about interim steps and stressed the need to preserve services for people experiencing homelessness during any transition.

The officials concluded the briefing without taking a formal vote; they said next steps include introducing legislation and coordinating with city and county leaders on an orderly, transparent dissolution process.