Seattle Councilmember Rivera and King County Councilmember Dembowski Applaud Mayor Wilson and County Executive Zahilay for KCRHA Announcement

Today Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) and King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski (District 1) released the following statement after Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay announced they will be taking back substantially all homeless service provider contracts from the King Country Regional Homelessness Authority.      

“Consistent with our joint call to wind down the KCRHA, we support Mayor Wilson and Executive Zahilay taking the first step by returning the bulk of the homeless service provider contracts to the City and the County. We stand ready to support their efforts and will work to ensure no interruption in services for our unhoused neighbors in need.  

“While this is not a complete dissolution of the Regional Homelessness Authority that we may have called for, it is a major step in the right direction.   

“This is a much-needed reset of how we manage our homelessness response. As recent reports have shown, the County’s unsheltered population continues to grow. We must now turn our efforts to assessing what changes are needed to make our response more effective. All options should be on the table. We can and must do better. Hard decisions lie ahead if we are serious about changing the trend lines on this challenge. We stand ready to make them.  

“We look forward to hearing more from the Mayor and the Executive on next steps and how the City and the County will continue to partner with stakeholders County-wide. We believe today’s announcement is an important step in the right direction to ensure we are meeting the needs of those who are living unsheltered, while also ensuring accountability for our tax dollars.” 

Today at noon, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson shared details about the County and City’s plans to stabilize, right size, and reset the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) and discuss the future of the regional homelessness response. 

The joint plan includes immediate steps to stabilize the agency, bolster fiscal controls, and help KCRHA maintain compliance with federal funding requirements. The changes follow an independent forensic evaluation released in April that identified significant concerns related to KCRHA’s financial management, governance structure, and internal controls.

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