Seattle and King County are reclaiming $159 million in homelessness contracts from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority by January 2027, narrowing the agency to a coordination role; staff layoffs began in August 2026.
King County Regional Homelessness Authority · on the transfer of about $150 million in contracts back to Seattle and King County
KCRHA said the transition announced in July by King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has moved from planning into implementation, with administration of approximately $150 million in locally funded annual homelessness service contracts moving back to Seattle and King County. The authority said it has begun reducing and restructuring staffing, is concluding interlocal agreements with seven cities including Bellevue and Redmond, and will retain federal Continuum of Care responsibilities including HMIS, Coordinated Entry, and the Point-in-Time count.
The authority said it has reached the 90-day milestone in the Corrective Action Plan adopted after this year's financial reviews; its layoffs began in late August.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority made its first round of layoffs August 25: a spokesperson confirmed 10 people were laid off, one resigned beforehand, and six vacant positions will stay vacant, with laid-off staff receiving no severance and one month of paid administrative leave. The same day, the agency's two top executives told a King County Council committee that an outside consultant is still tracing $8 million in unreconciled funds identified by this year's forensic audit, a figure COO William Towey said could be higher.
CEO Kelly Kinnison told staff not to expect additional layoffs until after October 5.
Management at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority told the agency's executive leadership team last week which staffers will lose their jobs in late August or early September, the first staff cuts of the agency's wind-down to a coordination role. Staff represented by the PROTEC17 union sent a letter to the governing board urging the agency to cut two top executives first, whose combined compensation tops $600,000 — what the union called "the direct financial cost of five to six full-time operational staff." The agency currently has 73 staff and has overspent its administrative budget by as much as $1 million this year.
Seattle and King County set a January 2027 timeline to take back $159 million in homelessness contracts from the authority, narrowing it to coordination.