‘Restoring its reputation isn’t possible’: Jake and Spike say King County homelessness agency struck out as officials install oversight

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson have decided to install their own oversight for the King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA), The Seattle Times reported Tuesday. A team of independent financial analysts will be placed within the authority to monitor the agency while officials decide whether to dissolve it completely.

KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill discussed whether restoring the agency’s reputation is even possible following the mismanagement of $13 million in funding and a nearly $45 million deficit.

“I don’t think that’s possible to do,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I think that would be folly, but I can see where they’re deeply tied into the local community. There’s a lot of money flowing through that place.”

Officials are ‘pot-committed’ to King County homelessness agency

Jake and Spike used the term “pot-committed” to describe local leaders’ investment in the agency despite its financial troubles.

“They’ve invested so much in this infrastructure, as loose and as Swiss cheese as it seems to be,” Spike said.

Auditors found the agency’s debt stemmed from poor cash flow management. Agency officials have said implementing new financial controls could take nine to 18 months, meaning taxpayer dollars would continue to be spent before those measures are fully in place, according to The Seattle Times.

“I don’t understand that,” Jake said. “From day one, why are they coming back to you and saying, ‘All these recommendations for how to make sure that we’re not doing stupid things with the money — it’s going to take us 18 months to institute those things into our programs, and yet you should still trust us with continued finances.'”

Jake said he would shut the agency down because there are still more homeless people in King County than when the agency started.

“If you can get back to the starting line and really get this thing going, you’re still looking at an agency that has utterly failed at the job, because the homeless number has increased,” he said.

Three strikes against King County homelessness agency

Spike said the King County homeless agency struck out. Strike one: the agency can’t account for $13 million. Strike two: the agency is more than $44 million in the hole. Strike three: the agency has more homeless people on the street than when it started.

“It’s getting harder and harder to be a proponent of, ‘Is there anything worth salvaging here?’ Because their initial efforts toward correcting the agency in place here, and its policies, your initial offerings of solutions are far from adequate,” Spike said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3