SEATTLE — A state audit released this week shows the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) needs stronger internal controls on its finances.
The KCRHA said it is in a time of transition. Interim CEO Helen Howell said regular audits, like the one done by the state, are an important step to help them move forward.
In King County, where more than 53,000 are experiencing homelessness, the regional authority tasked with bringing people inside is acknowledging it needs to improve.
"I am pleased to see the state has weighed in,” said Reagan Dunn, the King County Council vice chair.
The Office of the Washington State Auditor reviewed the Regional Homelessness Authority's financial statements from last year and found the agency did not have effective internal controls in place to ensure accurate and reliable financial reporting.
In response, the agency said they will have a monthly close review process to prevent financial discrepancies in the future.
"We are clarifying what needs to change to get this agency fully on track," Howell said in a statement. "We are making progress, and we will continue to push ourselves to be better."
"The King County Regional Homelessness Authority needs to crawl before it walks. It needs to start to be able to distribute its grants properly. It needs to do its accounting right,” said Dunn. "The details aren't being tended to and that is very significant with this amount of taxpayer money."
The Regional Homelessness Authority's budget this year is more than $253 million. Howell says improving the internal functions of the agency is the critical foundation for success in addressing homelessness across our region.
An interim chief financial officer joined the team in July and is leading work to assess and improve financial operations.
The agency said its path forward involves implementing a five-year plan with a focus on unifying and coordinating its homelessness response.