‘Why would I trust them?’: Jake slams $900K investment in KCRHA after it lost track of millions

Seattle and King County are investing $900,000 in an independent audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) after the agency ran $45 million over budget and couldn’t account for $13 million.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, questioned whether the investment is even worth it, considering the audit will be carried out over the rest of 2026, but Mayor Katie Wilson and King County have until Aug. 1 to decide whether to repair or dissolve the KCRHA.

“My question is, how can you spend $900,000 for the remainder of the year, which is six more months, when you only have one month left to make a decision?” Jake asked. “They won’t possibly have the information that they’re saying that they need in order to make that decision. So, it seems to me that it’s just a fait accompli, that they keep this thing open, unless I’m reading that wrong.”

“They can probably do an autopsy or a forensic exam of where this organization stands today in the next five weeks, so you can have enough information,” Spike responded. “It’s .5% of [KCRHA’s] annual budget. The annual budget is $200 million. You’re going to find out whether or not anything is salvageable. If you have to scrap it and start over, at least harvest the organs of this thing.”

Jake questions whether the agency can be trusted after mismanaging millions

Jake wondered if it was a good idea to spend nearly $1 million on an agency that has mismanaged several million dollars already, and questioned the trust he has in the KCRHA going forward.

“They’re $45 million in the hole, and they can’t account for $13 million. Now you’re going to give them $900,000 more?”

“They did say it wasn’t fraud, it was just incompetence,” Spike responded.

“Well, that’s what they’re saying. Why would I trust them? You’re asking possibly the guilty party whether or not they’re guilty,” Jake said. “What do you think they’re going to say? Spike, always assume that these people are insane. That’s the safe assumption. We have to assume that, because look at the track record, they’re $45 million in the hole.”

Spike says the investment is worth it; Jake says the agency has already failed

Spike believed it would be smart to invest the money due to how much funding has already been dumped into the agency, while Jake argued the KCRHA has already proven it doesn’t work, as homelessness has increased 9% since its last point-in-time count.

“Would you give the KCRHA $900,000?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I would,” Spike responded. “I would because you’ve invested how much in this process so far. What if you find through this investment, not that they’re all peaches, but it’s not a turd sandwich either? Somewhere in the middle is reality.”

“I’m not saying that every single piece is corrupted, but enough of it is corrupted that I would say it’s not worth investing another million dollars,” Jake said. “This is people’s money going into an organization that has proven that it does not work.”

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