(The Center Square) – The King County Regional Homelessness Authority, or KCRHA, revealed its preliminary proposed 2026 budget with reduced funding, with some Governing Board members flagging concerns with the agency’s budget process.
The preliminary proposed budget is based on anticipated funding for KCRHA next year, with a total of $199 million. The preliminary 2026 budget is a 3.8% decrease from the agency’s 2025 budget, which totals $206.87 million.
Seattle is KCRHA’s main funder. The proposed reduction in funding is tied to Seattle’s budget challenges, with the city requiring a 2% general fund reduction among its departments for next year. As a quasi-government agency, KCRHA was instructed to engage in the same process, resulting in anticipated funding of $112.96 million for next year. That represents 56.8% of the agency’s total funding for next year.
During Monday’s KCRHA Governing Board meeting, KCRHA Deputy Chief Financial Officer Tiffany Brooks said the 2% reduction in Seattle funding could potentially result in service cuts, and the loss of 58 emergency shelter beds and 20 Rapid Re-Housing program enrollments. At this time, there are no cuts being implemented by KCRHA.
Funding specifically for the agency’s administrative costs in the preliminary budget totals $13.77 million, a 7.4% rate. A presentation notes that the industry average administrative rate is 10% to 20% for comparable agencies.
The $13.9 million is $4.7 million less than the $18.6 million that the agency estimates is needed to sustain operations. This means there could be internal reductions across the agency and impacts to the timeliness of provider support to make up for the budget shortfall.
Seattle Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington told the Governing Board that Mayor Bruce Harrell did not see the agency’s proposed budget up until it was revealed at the board meeting on Monday.
“The mayor and city council would never ever consider programmatic cuts without deeply understanding the administrative rates,” Washington said during the board meeting.
The conversation opened up when King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who is also a member of the KCRHA Governing Board, noted that the agency’s budget process lacks discussion and input, adding that “there’s something missing here.”
“Even when there are tough times, we have options – I don’t know how we make those without seeking input from our key stakeholders and the public,” Balducci said.
Washington added that Seattle should fold KCRHA into its budget process to have it on the same timeline as the city and King County.
“The way this is done now is broken and it’s just not working,” Washington said.
King County Executive Shannon Braddock said the budget process will be assessed as part of the agency’s interlocal agreement with King County and Seattle.
The agency will know how much Seattle is actually allocating to its budget next year, once the city’s own proposed 2026 budget is announced in September.
The KCRHA Governing Board will ultimately vote on its 2026 budget in December, with key funding still to be determined.
