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The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is slashing 22% of its workforce to patch a $4.7 million budget hole—the latest sign that Seattle’s “regional approach” to homelessness is collapsing under its own bureaucracy.
The agency says it’s running out of money because pandemic cash dried up, its admin costs were “too low,” and its funding model forces it to take out loans. Translation: they spent big, accomplished little, and now taxpayers are expected to feel bad about it.
CEO Kelly Kinnison claims they’re “leaning out leadership” and cutting positions not tied directly to service providers. That’s bureaucrat-speak for “we had too many people managing the people managing the problem.”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell—whose city funds more than half of KCRHA’s budget—recently asked why Seattle shoulders 85% of the shelters and 70% of the county’s homeless population. Maybe because regional “partnerships” sound great until the bill comes due.
To make matters worse, KCRHA is bracing for the loss of $23 million in federal funds as President Trump redirects housing money toward treatment-first programs instead of the Democrats’ failed Housing First model.
After years of grand plans, blue-ribbon task forces, and photo ops, KCRHA is finally facing reality: you can’t spend your way out of incompetence. Read more at Center Square.
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