BURIEN, Wash. — King County has officially rescinded an offer for $1 million in funding that was intended to be used for a pallet shelter by the City of Burien.
In an email sent Thursday to Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon, King County Deputy Executive Shannon Braddock notified that the funding will be reallocated to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority for their use in south King County, including addressing a county-owned property within Burien that city officials were requesting help with.
Braddock noted that the funding has been available to the city for over a year, but Burien has not made use of it or selected a site to build a pallet shelter. Braddock also accused the city of not making use of $5 million in funding available for homelessness projects that could be applied for by cities.
Bailon hit back at the county, also via email, saying the city accepted the funds in 2023 but was notified that the $1 million would only be enough to construct the pallet shelter and then keep it running for two to three months. Bailon said the city asked the county if additional funding would be made available to keep the shelter going but did not receive a response suggesting that the shelter would remain open beyond that initial three-month period.
Bailon also noted that Burien was one of only two cities to apply for funding from the county's pool of $5 million and received $1 million, which went to supporting Mary's Place and Mercy Housing to support a new shelter and affordable housing project.
Bailon made multiple references to unresponsiveness on the part of county and elected officials, ending the email by saying he was "pleased to learn that King County is finally accepting the responsibility of managing a problem that is regional in nature and disproportionately affects cities with limit (sic) resources."
The email exchange is just the latest in a series of clashes over homelessness between the City of Burien and King County. The City of Burien police chief recently resigned after the department, which is staffed by the King County Sheriff's Office, refused to enforce the city's public camping ban, which KCSO claims is unconstitutional.
The city and the county have both gone to court over the issue.