(The Center Square) - King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s decision to significantly restructure the troubled King County Regional Homeless Authority drew praise from some of the agency’s most ardent critics, but not everyone was pleased.
Seattle Councilmember Maritza Rivera and King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski — both of whom have pushed for the agency’s dissolution — called Wednesday’s decision a “step in the right direction.”
The retuning of the agency comes after a critical outside forensic audit in April found that the regional agency had lost track of how it spent $8 million of its more than $200 million budget.
It also found more than $6 million in administrative overspending and more than $1 million in interest payments the agency was making.
The authority reshuffling will return the administration of homeless services to both the city and the county. It comes as King County's homeless population continues to rise while other urban centers across the U.S. are seeing declines in the unhoused.
King County saw an overall 9% increase in the unhoused population in 2026, compared with two years earlier, according to the homeless authority's own count.
Rivera and Dembowski said that returning the administration of homeless services to the city and county is a good aspect of the plan put out by Zahilay and Wilson.
"We stand ready to support their efforts and will work to ensure no interruption in services for our unhoused neighbors in need,” they said in their joint statement.
Business leaders also expressed support for the plan.
"Homelessness is a regional crisis that requires urgency and a coordinated regional response, and the growing challenges in downtown Seattle and across King County make it clear that a reset is needed," said Downtown Seattle Association CEO Jon Scholes in a statement released by the county.
"We support an approach that is focused on delivering better outcomes for our unsheltered neighbors while strengthening accountability, transparency, and coordination among our public partners. Most importantly, this effort must restore public confidence that our local governments can work together to produce meaningful, measurable results."
But Seattle City Councilman Bob Kettle has doubts.
Kettle, chairman of the council's Public Safety Committee, called the new plan "a disappointment" in a statement.
"The plan to shave away the agency’s responsibilities is coming ahead of schedule, and without consulting members of the council," he said, "which risks imploding the homelessness authority without a strong plan for its replacement."
Zahilay and Wilson, at a Wednesday press conference, stressed that the county and city would still be taking a regional approach to addressing homelessness and coordinating their efforts.
The reshuffle leaves $67 million in federal funding that will still be administered by the Authority. The city of Seattle will retain control of about $118 million, and King County will retain around $40 million.
Wilson said at the press conference that the changes are about taking "political responsibility" for the region's response to homelessness.
"The steps we're taking today will let the agency focus on rebuilding public trust, making a strong application for federal funding and helping our city and region deliver better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness," Wilson said.
Four legislators, who are members of the homeless authority's board, applauded Wednesday's decision, but said they would be watching carefully.
Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Seattle City Councilmember Dionne Foster, King County Councilmember Steffanie Fain, and King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón, said they are committed to ensuring that any transition of City and County contracts is well-coordinated and contiguous.
“Throughout this transition, the priority should be to minimize disruption for service providers, whose work is essential for the individuals and families who depend on the homelessness response system," they said in a joint statement.
The authority transformation will begin in January 2027.
