Overview
- An outside forensic review found the agency could not account for about $13 million, carried a $44.7 million negative cash position through mid‑2025, and ran a $4.26 million administrative deficit that included $1.26 million in interest charges.
- Seattle and King County sent formal letters to the authority requiring a written explanation of the findings and a detailed corrective action plan with firm deadlines in May.
- The funders urged immediate controls that include a biweekly financial oversight committee, a hiring freeze, a freeze on discretionary spending, and a pause on new agreements that increase costs or liability.
- Political fallout escalated as Seattle Councilmember Maritza Rivera and King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski said they will seek to eliminate the authority, while other local officials pressed for reforms that keep a regional response in place.
- KCRHA CEO Kelly Kinnison accepted the findings and said the audit did not identify fraud, citing startup‑era and pandemic‑era system gaps, as the agency that gets about 58% of its budget from Seattle — including up to $113 million in 2024 — works to shore up finances without disrupting services.