‘Where is that money going?’: Ursula questions Seattle’s homeless spending as city eyes new RV parking rules

KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin both support tougher RV parking rules on Seattle streets, but are questioning where the city’s homeless spending is actually going.

“Where is that money going?” Ursula asked on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “We don’t even know how many people are actually living in these RVs.”

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss is proposing a new system that would limit RVs and travel trailers without a city permit to two hours of street parking, with no overnight parking between midnight and 6 a.m. People already living in RVs could qualify for a temporary permit, allowing them to stay up to 72 hours in designated industrial areas while working with a caseworker toward shelter or housing. The city would also put $5 million toward outreach, safe parking lots, and vehicle storage.

Gee said he’s fine with stricter rules as long as they come with real help for people who need it.

“I am very, very OK with tougher rules and restrictions when it comes to RVs,” Gee said. “No, you cannot park your RV here. Now, on the other hand, I want to say, hey, here’s more help for people that need it, for folks that are getting up, going to work, folks getting up and taking their kids to school.”

He compared it to parenting.

“You can have strict rules and still love your children,” Gee said. “You’re not gonna do this. You have to do this. But hey, I’m gonna have compassion and empathy for you. I think Seattle needs to do a better job of that.”

Ursula supports tougher RV parking rules but questions where displaced residents will go

Ursula said she supports the proposal because it creates a trade: the city offers a legal path for people who want help while gaining stronger authority to crack down on those who refuse it. But she questioned what happens when the two-hour clock runs out.

“When that two-hour clock runs out, where are they supposed to go?” Ursula said. “Because Seattle is still thousands of shelter beds short, despite the ridiculous amounts of money we’ve been spending on it.”

She pointed to a stark statistic.

“Twenty-eight affordable and available rentals exist for every 100 extremely low-income households,” Ursula said. “You do the math.”

‘There are literally people that get paid to come up with solutions’: Gee says the problem keeps getting worse

Gee said the public hears about homelessness spending and missing money mostly through radio hosts like himself and Ursula, neither of whom are experts or paid to find solutions.

“There are literally people that get paid to come up with solutions, and the problem gets worse every year,” Gee said.

Ursula said that’s why the term “homeless industrial complex” exists.

“It seems like the more money that you put into it, the bigger the problem gets, and that is the issue,” Ursula said. “Either they need to do a better job of making the money go toward what it is that really needs to be addressed, or maybe get out of the business and find someone else who can actually do a better job.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.