1 00:00:00,567 --> 00:00:03,036 ♪♪ 2 00:00:03,036 --> 00:00:04,938 -Welcome to City Inside/Out. 3 00:00:04,938 --> 00:00:07,374 I'm your host, Brian Callanan. 4 00:00:07,374 --> 00:00:10,510 A recent audit has shown about $13 million 5 00:00:10,510 --> 00:00:12,812 in unaccounted funds for the King County 6 00:00:12,812 --> 00:00:14,748 Regional Homelessness Authority, 7 00:00:14,748 --> 00:00:15,482 part of a history 8 00:00:15,482 --> 00:00:17,884 of financial problems for the agency. 9 00:00:17,884 --> 00:00:20,820 So is it time to shut down the KCRHA? 10 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:23,556 -We're fixing our fragmented response system 11 00:00:23,556 --> 00:00:26,126 so that we can make best use of our resources 12 00:00:26,126 --> 00:00:28,261 to make a difference in people's lives. 13 00:00:28,261 --> 00:00:32,532 -The KCRHA launched in 2019 with a noble vision... 14 00:00:32,766 --> 00:00:35,835 to find a regional answer for the regional problem 15 00:00:35,835 --> 00:00:36,836 of homelessness. 16 00:00:36,836 --> 00:00:37,103 -You know, 17 00:00:37,103 --> 00:00:38,671 I think that we are seeing some 18 00:00:38,671 --> 00:00:40,173 some pretty significant success. 19 00:00:40,173 --> 00:00:41,775 -But a parade of different 20 00:00:41,775 --> 00:00:42,475 leaders over 21 00:00:42,475 --> 00:00:43,176 the years 22 00:00:43,176 --> 00:00:46,079 has overseen a series of financial troubles, 23 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:47,247 and the April audit 24 00:00:47,247 --> 00:00:50,250 has some elected leaders saying the KCRHA 25 00:00:50,283 --> 00:00:51,785 needs to be dismantled. 26 00:00:51,785 --> 00:00:53,753 -It is time to find a different way 27 00:00:53,753 --> 00:00:56,256 to make this very important work happen. 28 00:00:56,256 --> 00:00:59,392 -The KCRHA’s current CEO, who requested 29 00:00:59,392 --> 00:01:01,027 the audit, is pushing back. 30 00:01:01,027 --> 00:01:01,661 -The audit did 31 00:01:01,661 --> 00:01:04,664 not find evidence of fraud or misuse of funds. 32 00:01:04,664 --> 00:01:07,767 -So what's behind the drive to close down the KCRHA? 33 00:01:08,368 --> 00:01:10,036 -They are not a little bit in the red, 34 00:01:10,036 --> 00:01:11,638 they are big time in the red. 35 00:01:11,638 --> 00:01:13,139 -Our panel weighs in on 36 00:01:13,139 --> 00:01:15,308 what's next for the embattled agency. 37 00:01:15,308 --> 00:01:18,845 -We cannot afford to spend money on recreation 38 00:01:19,012 --> 00:01:20,480 of new bureaucracies. 39 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,649 -Should the Regional Homelessness Authority 40 00:01:22,649 --> 00:01:24,584 no longer be in authority? 41 00:01:24,584 --> 00:01:26,453 That's next on City Inside/Out. 42 00:01:28,088 --> 00:01:42,068 ♪♪ 43 00:01:45,405 --> 00:01:47,006 Thanks again for joining us on City 44 00:01:47,006 --> 00:01:48,875 Inside/Out here on the Seattle Channel. 45 00:01:48,875 --> 00:01:49,976 I'm Brian Callanan 46 00:01:49,976 --> 00:01:50,643 and I am joined 47 00:01:50,643 --> 00:01:51,911 by two people with some 48 00:01:51,911 --> 00:01:54,547 different perspectives on the future of the KCRHA. 49 00:01:54,547 --> 00:01:56,883 One of those people is King County Councilmember Rod 50 00:01:56,883 --> 00:01:58,551 Dembowski, who has introduced 51 00:01:58,551 --> 00:02:01,020 a resolution to dissolve the KCRHA. 52 00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:02,822 Councilmember Dembowski, good to have you. 53 00:02:02,822 --> 00:02:03,957 -Thanks for having us. 54 00:02:03,957 --> 00:02:06,025 -Also with us is Lisa Daugaard, 55 00:02:06,025 --> 00:02:08,328 co-executive director of Purpose Dignity Action, 56 00:02:08,328 --> 00:02:09,295 an advocacy group 57 00:02:09,295 --> 00:02:11,131 that has worked on issues around homelessness 58 00:02:11,131 --> 00:02:12,532 and public safety for decades. 59 00:02:12,532 --> 00:02:13,566 Lisa, thanks for being here. 60 00:02:13,566 --> 00:02:14,834 iIt's great to be here. Thanks. 61 00:02:14,834 --> 00:02:15,535 -Let's jump in. 62 00:02:15,535 --> 00:02:17,704 Councilmember Dembowski, to start with you 63 00:02:17,704 --> 00:02:20,073 and talk about how we how we got here, if we could. 64 00:02:20,073 --> 00:02:21,241 So you were on the County 65 00:02:21,241 --> 00:02:23,143 Council in December of 2019, 66 00:02:23,143 --> 00:02:24,744 which at the time voted to approve 67 00:02:24,744 --> 00:02:26,146 this Interlocal agreement 68 00:02:26,146 --> 00:02:28,114 to launch the Regional Homelessness Authority, 69 00:02:28,114 --> 00:02:29,883 along with the Seattle City Council. 70 00:02:29,883 --> 00:02:31,718 You were a co-sponsor on that legislation. 71 00:02:31,718 --> 00:02:34,287 You voted to approve it in an eight one vote. 72 00:02:34,287 --> 00:02:37,290 What was your perspective on the RHA then? 73 00:02:37,457 --> 00:02:40,126 -Well, as transmitted, I was not supportive of it 74 00:02:40,126 --> 00:02:41,661 when it came over and I worked really hard 75 00:02:41,661 --> 00:02:43,363 with some other electeds and through the 76 00:02:43,363 --> 00:02:45,598 Regional Policy Committee to modify it... 77 00:02:45,598 --> 00:02:47,033 -Make some amendments. -Absolutely. 78 00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:48,234 And it really changed it. 79 00:02:48,234 --> 00:02:51,738 The idea originally, Brian, was to centralize 80 00:02:51,738 --> 00:02:54,374 the region's response to homelessness, 81 00:02:54,374 --> 00:02:56,042 bring the county, the city, and hopefully 82 00:02:56,042 --> 00:02:58,778 our suburban city partners, the 38 of them together 83 00:02:58,778 --> 00:03:01,381 and have a coordinated response around the region, 84 00:03:01,381 --> 00:03:03,650 but also to take the politicians out of it. 85 00:03:03,650 --> 00:03:04,617 That was the idea 86 00:03:04,617 --> 00:03:07,220 to remove elected officials oversight. 87 00:03:07,220 --> 00:03:08,188 That was what came over. 88 00:03:08,188 --> 00:03:10,123 They wanted the folks with lived experience 89 00:03:10,123 --> 00:03:11,791 to run this and spend 200 90 00:03:11,791 --> 00:03:13,693 plus million dollars a year of taxpayer money. 91 00:03:13,693 --> 00:03:15,128 I did not like that. 92 00:03:15,128 --> 00:03:17,063 I felt that we should have an accountability 93 00:03:17,063 --> 00:03:18,631 loop to the voters and the taxpayers 94 00:03:18,631 --> 00:03:20,366 on the most important public policy 95 00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:22,669 challenge of the last ten years. 96 00:03:22,669 --> 00:03:23,937 Homelessness yet. 97 00:03:23,937 --> 00:03:24,504 And so we 98 00:03:24,504 --> 00:03:26,773 we added the elected oversight 99 00:03:26,773 --> 00:03:29,075 and we brought the regional leaders in on 100 00:03:29,075 --> 00:03:31,377 with an equal voice and did some reforms. 101 00:03:31,377 --> 00:03:33,313 And on that basis, I said, let's give it a shot. 102 00:03:33,313 --> 00:03:34,414 And that was kind of a trend 103 00:03:34,414 --> 00:03:36,015 that was going on at the time 104 00:03:36,015 --> 00:03:37,717 to bring and empower folks 105 00:03:37,717 --> 00:03:39,118 who have lived through the challenges 106 00:03:39,118 --> 00:03:41,521 personally to the table and have authority. 107 00:03:41,521 --> 00:03:43,323 I just felt in our democratic system, 108 00:03:43,323 --> 00:03:44,257 with taxpayer money 109 00:03:44,257 --> 00:03:45,658 and a big public policy idea, 110 00:03:45,658 --> 00:03:46,893 you ought to have some electeds there. 111 00:03:46,893 --> 00:03:48,194 And that's that's what was set up. 112 00:03:48,194 --> 00:03:49,495 -Okay. Thank you for that. 113 00:03:49,495 --> 00:03:50,797 Lisa, let me ask you about this, 114 00:03:50,797 --> 00:03:51,331 because I've heard 115 00:03:51,331 --> 00:03:52,865 from so many advocates that 116 00:03:52,865 --> 00:03:56,402 the way KCRHA was established didn't give it a great, 117 00:03:56,402 --> 00:03:58,571 solid foundation from the beginning here. 118 00:03:58,571 --> 00:04:00,673 What was your initial take on the KCRHA? 119 00:04:00,673 --> 00:04:02,842 Did you have concerns about how it was structured? 120 00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:04,310 -Yeah. 121 00:04:04,310 --> 00:04:05,178 Let me just start by 122 00:04:05,178 --> 00:04:06,479 saying, I think Councilmember 123 00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:07,914 Domanski and I do have some 124 00:04:07,914 --> 00:04:11,584 differences in perspective, but on this key point 125 00:04:12,385 --> 00:04:15,555 about his initial stance, we strongly agree 126 00:04:16,055 --> 00:04:17,724 this kind of public investment 127 00:04:17,724 --> 00:04:19,225 has to be overseen by the people 128 00:04:19,225 --> 00:04:21,494 who are elected to be responsible 129 00:04:21,494 --> 00:04:22,929 for spending public funds. 130 00:04:22,929 --> 00:04:24,864 And so that was always 131 00:04:24,864 --> 00:04:27,533 a concern about the initial concept. 132 00:04:27,533 --> 00:04:31,104 And I think it was it was correct to insist on 133 00:04:31,938 --> 00:04:34,540 putting elected officials in a governing 134 00:04:34,540 --> 00:04:35,842 oversight position, 135 00:04:35,842 --> 00:04:37,243 whether they've discharge 136 00:04:37,243 --> 00:04:39,045 that responsibility effectively, 137 00:04:39,045 --> 00:04:40,079 I think is a separate question. 138 00:04:40,079 --> 00:04:42,348 But I do want to go back to the origin story, 139 00:04:42,348 --> 00:04:44,083 at least 140 00:04:44,083 --> 00:04:46,352 what Councilmember Dembowski related. 141 00:04:46,352 --> 00:04:48,588 That was what was said to be needed, 142 00:04:48,588 --> 00:04:51,591 a regional approach or regional solution. 143 00:04:51,824 --> 00:04:53,426 But the back story actually I think 144 00:04:53,426 --> 00:04:55,528 is more interesting and revealing. 145 00:04:55,528 --> 00:04:57,063 So in 2018, 146 00:04:57,063 --> 00:05:00,166 the Chamber of Commerce Commission, the McKinsey 147 00:05:01,167 --> 00:05:03,036 Company, to do an assessment 148 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:03,903 actually is pro-bono. 149 00:05:03,903 --> 00:05:06,572 I guess they didn't pay for it, but they 150 00:05:06,572 --> 00:05:09,208 that they nonetheless obtained this analysis 151 00:05:09,208 --> 00:05:11,811 of what it would take to meaningfully 152 00:05:11,811 --> 00:05:13,513 resolve unsheltered homelessness. 153 00:05:13,513 --> 00:05:14,080 -I remember that.s 154 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:14,747 Yeah. 155 00:05:14,747 --> 00:05:17,550 -King County and McKinsey, 156 00:05:17,550 --> 00:05:19,886 I think unexpectedly to the Chamber, 157 00:05:19,886 --> 00:05:24,223 found that it would require doubling the expenditures 158 00:05:24,223 --> 00:05:25,091 of local investments 159 00:05:25,091 --> 00:05:27,193 and that was a conservative calculation, assuming 160 00:05:27,193 --> 00:05:29,395 that we didn't even need to build anything. 161 00:05:29,395 --> 00:05:32,131 And their key finding was that all the talk 162 00:05:32,131 --> 00:05:35,268 about sort of efficiencies and structural changes 163 00:05:35,535 --> 00:05:36,069 would not... 164 00:05:36,069 --> 00:05:37,970 You could do that perfectly 165 00:05:37,970 --> 00:05:39,372 and you would not 166 00:05:39,372 --> 00:05:40,273 make a dent 167 00:05:40,273 --> 00:05:41,974 in our homelessness situation 168 00:05:41,974 --> 00:05:43,910 because the fundamental problem 169 00:05:43,910 --> 00:05:45,878 was one of resources. 170 00:05:45,878 --> 00:05:48,781 And after that report came out, 171 00:05:48,781 --> 00:05:51,551 there was an incredible sort of 172 00:05:51,551 --> 00:05:54,554 focus by elected officials, 173 00:05:55,188 --> 00:05:57,023 both at the from the mayor's office 174 00:05:57,023 --> 00:06:00,993 at the time, Mayor Durkan and from the exec’s office 175 00:06:01,361 --> 00:06:03,663 about how we needed the structural change. 176 00:06:03,663 --> 00:06:04,130 And really 177 00:06:04,130 --> 00:06:05,631 I think that was a diversion 178 00:06:05,631 --> 00:06:06,065 and that was the 179 00:06:06,065 --> 00:06:09,068 perspective of many of us at the time, many providers 180 00:06:09,569 --> 00:06:11,170 that I mean, 181 00:06:11,170 --> 00:06:11,738 you could 182 00:06:11,738 --> 00:06:14,741 reorganize the structure, but that cannot substitute 183 00:06:14,807 --> 00:06:17,744 for adequacy of resources and strategy 184 00:06:17,744 --> 00:06:19,846 and that at the end you could do that. 185 00:06:19,846 --> 00:06:21,214 But if you didn't address resources 186 00:06:21,214 --> 00:06:22,982 and strategy, we would be in 187 00:06:22,982 --> 00:06:24,050 essentially the same place. 188 00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:26,219 And that is what happened. -Okay, Got please. 189 00:06:26,219 --> 00:06:26,853 Yeah. 190 00:06:26,853 --> 00:06:27,620 -On that point 191 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:28,054 and I think 192 00:06:28,054 --> 00:06:30,123 this is one of the tragedies of 193 00:06:30,123 --> 00:06:32,058 the Regional Homelessness Authority 194 00:06:32,058 --> 00:06:35,061 is because of their failed performance, 195 00:06:35,128 --> 00:06:36,496 there has been a reluctance 196 00:06:36,496 --> 00:06:37,764 to deliver 197 00:06:37,764 --> 00:06:38,998 more resources to them 198 00:06:38,998 --> 00:06:41,567 because they haven't delivered on 199 00:06:41,567 --> 00:06:42,802 treating our contractors 200 00:06:42,802 --> 00:06:44,003 right. There's been delays there. 201 00:06:44,003 --> 00:06:45,004 They haven't really delivered 202 00:06:45,004 --> 00:06:46,439 on providing better services. 203 00:06:46,439 --> 00:06:48,141 It hasn't been more coordinated. 204 00:06:48,141 --> 00:06:50,910 And so those of us, who I'm the budget chair, 205 00:06:50,910 --> 00:06:53,346 write checks for the public money 206 00:06:53,346 --> 00:06:54,380 have not sent money there. 207 00:06:54,380 --> 00:06:55,415 And in fact, you've seen the city 208 00:06:55,415 --> 00:06:56,849 of Seattle withdraw funds. 209 00:06:56,849 --> 00:06:58,851 -Yes. -And that, sadly, 210 00:06:59,852 --> 00:07:01,287 is kind of one of the results. 211 00:07:01,287 --> 00:07:02,488 Lisa's right there. 212 00:07:02,488 --> 00:07:05,057 There is a need for more resources. 213 00:07:05,057 --> 00:07:06,626 But would you write a check 214 00:07:06,626 --> 00:07:08,394 to the King County Regional Authority? 215 00:07:08,394 --> 00:07:10,430 Would anybody? No. 216 00:07:10,430 --> 00:07:11,364 -But I do want to say, 217 00:07:11,364 --> 00:07:14,801 because this was originally set up to, in my opinion, 218 00:07:15,268 --> 00:07:16,869 divert from the question 219 00:07:16,869 --> 00:07:18,571 of resources and sort of pretend 220 00:07:18,571 --> 00:07:22,875 that a new structure would be a game changer. 221 00:07:23,643 --> 00:07:24,610 I don't think there was ever 222 00:07:24,610 --> 00:07:25,378 an intention 223 00:07:25,378 --> 00:07:27,447 to increase the resources and in a way 224 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:29,382 that organization was set up to fail. 225 00:07:29,382 --> 00:07:31,984 So the leaders that took I mean, 226 00:07:31,984 --> 00:07:34,020 I think you would have to be crazy to take that job 227 00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:37,023 because your the charge was massive. 228 00:07:37,156 --> 00:07:38,491 It was absolutely not. 229 00:07:38,491 --> 00:07:40,927 It doesn't have its own revenue source. 230 00:07:40,927 --> 00:07:41,761 Nor was there 231 00:07:41,761 --> 00:07:44,030 any commitment or promise to 232 00:07:44,030 --> 00:07:45,932 really match the assignment 233 00:07:45,932 --> 00:07:47,967 with the necessary resources. 234 00:07:47,967 --> 00:07:49,335 From the beginning, 235 00:07:49,335 --> 00:07:52,071 their assignment was to kind of pretend 236 00:07:52,071 --> 00:07:53,172 that it was possible 237 00:07:53,172 --> 00:07:55,208 with the cards that they held 238 00:07:55,208 --> 00:07:58,044 to do an assignment that was not matched 239 00:07:58,044 --> 00:07:59,912 with the resources that had been committed. 240 00:07:59,912 --> 00:08:01,581 -I do want to move on to another point here. 241 00:08:01,581 --> 00:08:03,649 And just get to the present day of this audit 242 00:08:03,649 --> 00:08:04,984 that came out in April here. 243 00:08:04,984 --> 00:08:06,752 And Lisa, let me start with you here. 244 00:08:06,752 --> 00:08:09,722 So this audit said that the agency, KCRHA, 245 00:08:09,922 --> 00:08:12,792 has received about $534 million over the past 246 00:08:12,792 --> 00:08:13,526 six years. 247 00:08:13,526 --> 00:08:15,928 It's currently about 38 million in the red. 248 00:08:15,928 --> 00:08:18,231 The audit also said there's about $13 249 00:08:18,231 --> 00:08:20,099 million unaccounted for on the books. 250 00:08:20,099 --> 00:08:22,235 No evidence of fraud, the audit said. 251 00:08:22,235 --> 00:08:24,170 But the risk of fraud still exists. 252 00:08:24,170 --> 00:08:25,304 I hear what you're saying about 253 00:08:25,304 --> 00:08:26,672 not getting enough resources, 254 00:08:26,672 --> 00:08:29,108 but with the resources that they did have, 255 00:08:29,108 --> 00:08:30,977 what do those numbers say to you? 256 00:08:30,977 --> 00:08:31,644 -Yeah, I mean, there's 257 00:08:31,644 --> 00:08:33,846 no question that this is not 258 00:08:33,846 --> 00:08:35,414 you can't be in this situation. 259 00:08:35,414 --> 00:08:37,083 You have to be able to account for every 260 00:08:37,083 --> 00:08:40,386 dollar of public funds that an agency receives. 261 00:08:41,087 --> 00:08:43,623 So that has to be it has to be fixed. 262 00:08:43,623 --> 00:08:44,290 Nor are they 263 00:08:44,290 --> 00:08:45,825 the only public entity 264 00:08:45,825 --> 00:08:48,194 that has recently had similar findings. 265 00:08:48,194 --> 00:08:50,129 So we can't we can't have this. 266 00:08:50,129 --> 00:08:51,297 And this is one area where I know 267 00:08:51,297 --> 00:08:53,733 I completely agree with Councilmember 268 00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:55,768 Dembowski and all the other elected officials 269 00:08:55,768 --> 00:08:57,670 that I have expressed concern. 270 00:08:57,670 --> 00:08:59,939 Do you want a flag, though, that being in the red? 271 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:01,541 They were always set up to be in the red. 272 00:09:01,541 --> 00:09:03,376 They again, they started out 273 00:09:04,343 --> 00:09:05,778 they have to pay us there. 274 00:09:05,778 --> 00:09:07,413 And we don't currently hold a contract 275 00:09:07,413 --> 00:09:08,881 with KCRHA. -You mean pay a 276 00:09:08,881 --> 00:09:11,450 service providers. -Service providers, 277 00:09:11,450 --> 00:09:14,320 when when we perform services 278 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,456 and if they are not currently holding 279 00:09:17,657 --> 00:09:19,859 reimbursements from the city 280 00:09:19,859 --> 00:09:21,394 and the county, it doesn't matter. 281 00:09:21,394 --> 00:09:22,595 They still have to pay us. 282 00:09:22,595 --> 00:09:25,398 That going into the red practice really started 283 00:09:25,398 --> 00:09:28,401 when appropriately there was public pressure 284 00:09:28,534 --> 00:09:31,571 to fix the long delays in reimbursing contractors. 285 00:09:31,604 --> 00:09:32,972 They do now pay us on time. 286 00:09:32,972 --> 00:09:34,874 They're actually a high performing 287 00:09:34,874 --> 00:09:36,676 public agency in that regard. 288 00:09:36,676 --> 00:09:38,010 But in order to do that, 289 00:09:38,010 --> 00:09:40,313 they had to create the structure of sort of 290 00:09:40,313 --> 00:09:42,648 going into the red to make timely payments. 291 00:09:42,648 --> 00:09:43,716 That's a 292 00:09:43,716 --> 00:09:46,519 that's a set up to fill a situation that's not 293 00:09:46,519 --> 00:09:49,088 necessarily of KCRHA’s making. 294 00:09:49,088 --> 00:09:49,589 -Fair enough. 295 00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:51,190 I do want to make sure I talk about this audit 296 00:09:51,190 --> 00:09:51,490 with you, 297 00:09:51,490 --> 00:09:53,559 Councilmember Dembowski, because I'm thinking 298 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:55,661 about the CEO of the KCRHA, Dr. 299 00:09:55,661 --> 00:09:56,562 Kelly Kinnison. 300 00:09:56,562 --> 00:09:57,964 She said at a meeting a few weeks ago. 301 00:09:57,964 --> 00:09:59,165 She was the one who actually called 302 00:09:59,165 --> 00:10:01,367 for this audit. She welcomes the scrutiny. 303 00:10:01,367 --> 00:10:02,234 She's been on the job 304 00:10:02,234 --> 00:10:04,704 since August of 2024, says during her time, 305 00:10:04,704 --> 00:10:06,238 the agency has made some progress 306 00:10:06,238 --> 00:10:08,307 when it comes to its financial reporting. 307 00:10:08,307 --> 00:10:09,442 What's your response to that? 308 00:10:09,442 --> 00:10:11,644 Have you given her enough time? What's your thoughts? 309 00:10:11,644 --> 00:10:14,513 -Well, the the audit is is damning. 310 00:10:14,513 --> 00:10:14,981 And by the way, 311 00:10:14,981 --> 00:10:16,682 it only looked through June of last year. 312 00:10:16,682 --> 00:10:18,751 We don't know what's occurred in the 11 months 313 00:10:18,751 --> 00:10:19,652 since. 314 00:10:19,652 --> 00:10:21,454 I'll tell you, as the chair 315 00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:23,623 of the Budget Committee at the county council 316 00:10:23,623 --> 00:10:25,391 and I also sit on something called the Executive 317 00:10:25,391 --> 00:10:26,058 Finance Committee 318 00:10:26,058 --> 00:10:28,694 that oversees this, we are their bank 319 00:10:28,694 --> 00:10:32,031 at the county, and they've had in April 320 00:10:32,465 --> 00:10:35,501 almost a $40 million deficit. 321 00:10:36,135 --> 00:10:37,803 They are not a little bit in the red. 322 00:10:37,803 --> 00:10:39,538 They are big time in the red. 323 00:10:39,538 --> 00:10:41,674 And it's not just the timing of payments issue, 324 00:10:41,674 --> 00:10:43,242 which is what we were told for many years. 325 00:10:43,242 --> 00:10:44,310 We began to have an inkling 326 00:10:44,310 --> 00:10:44,610 that that 327 00:10:44,610 --> 00:10:45,945 could be worse than that, 328 00:10:45,945 --> 00:10:48,381 and that is why this audit was supported. 329 00:10:48,381 --> 00:10:49,682 They've overspent 330 00:10:49,682 --> 00:10:52,051 the allocation by many, many millions of dollars. 331 00:10:52,051 --> 00:10:53,119 They're in a debt and there's going 332 00:10:53,119 --> 00:10:54,120 to have to be a bailout. 333 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:55,221 The city and the county 334 00:10:55,221 --> 00:10:56,622 are going to have to bail them out. 335 00:10:56,622 --> 00:10:58,324 So it isn't just a matter of timing. 336 00:10:58,324 --> 00:10:59,792 It's kind of like, say, you've got a line of credit 337 00:10:59,792 --> 00:11:01,327 attached to your checking account 338 00:11:01,327 --> 00:11:03,229 and maybe your maybe your expenses 339 00:11:03,229 --> 00:11:04,363 exceed your revenues a little bit. 340 00:11:04,363 --> 00:11:05,464 But at the end of the month 341 00:11:05,464 --> 00:11:07,166 of the year, you're true up to zero. 342 00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:08,367 They're not trued up to zero. 343 00:11:08,367 --> 00:11:09,435 They are millions and millions 344 00:11:09,435 --> 00:11:11,370 and millions in the red. 345 00:11:11,370 --> 00:11:13,472 And that's a problem. -Okay. 346 00:11:13,472 --> 00:11:16,108 Can I talk about your hopes to deal with this? 347 00:11:16,108 --> 00:11:17,343 I know you had a resolution 348 00:11:17,343 --> 00:11:18,144 you've been 349 00:11:18,144 --> 00:11:20,279 working on here to potentially dismantle 350 00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:21,547 the KCRHA. 351 00:11:21,547 --> 00:11:24,150 As I understand it, you're trying to potentially wind 352 00:11:24,150 --> 00:11:26,052 down the partnership with the KCRHA 353 00:11:26,052 --> 00:11:28,521 over the course of possibly 12 months. 354 00:11:28,521 --> 00:11:30,022 I know this is a bit of a moving target, 355 00:11:30,022 --> 00:11:31,691 but tell me what you're trying to do here. 356 00:11:31,691 --> 00:11:33,392 -Yeah,so under the Interlocal agreement 357 00:11:33,392 --> 00:11:35,094 that set it up as amended, 358 00:11:35,094 --> 00:11:36,562 either the city or the county 359 00:11:36,562 --> 00:11:37,263 has a right 360 00:11:37,263 --> 00:11:38,731 to a passing of a motion 361 00:11:38,731 --> 00:11:40,166 at the county or a resolution of the city 362 00:11:40,166 --> 00:11:42,034 to start a dissolution process. 363 00:11:42,034 --> 00:11:44,503 It envisions about a 12 month period. 364 00:11:44,503 --> 00:11:46,205 Could be more, could be less, depending 365 00:11:46,205 --> 00:11:48,074 on, you know, what's required. 366 00:11:48,074 --> 00:11:50,209 And so we filed that motion 367 00:11:50,209 --> 00:11:52,278 and the catalyst was this audit. 368 00:11:52,278 --> 00:11:53,879 But I also I just want to say 369 00:11:53,879 --> 00:11:56,148 the structure of this organization is 370 00:11:56,148 --> 00:11:58,184 is you could fix all of the audit stuff. 371 00:11:58,184 --> 00:11:58,818 And by the way, 372 00:11:58,818 --> 00:11:59,452 they should have done it 373 00:11:59,452 --> 00:12:02,154 in 2033 when there were audit saying that 374 00:12:02,154 --> 00:12:03,189 they had problems and they said, 375 00:12:03,189 --> 00:12:04,056 we're working on it now. 376 00:12:04,056 --> 00:12:06,692 We're in 2026, hasn't been solved, 377 00:12:06,692 --> 00:12:09,462 but this fundamental structure of this violates 378 00:12:09,462 --> 00:12:11,330 a basic, fundamental principle 379 00:12:11,330 --> 00:12:12,965 for me of service to the public. 380 00:12:12,965 --> 00:12:13,399 And that is 381 00:12:13,399 --> 00:12:13,799 if you're going 382 00:12:13,799 --> 00:12:15,701 to be held accountable for something, 383 00:12:15,701 --> 00:12:17,837 you better have the responsibility for it. 384 00:12:17,837 --> 00:12:19,505 And it goes back to the setup. 385 00:12:19,505 --> 00:12:21,841 We devolved responsibility over 386 00:12:21,841 --> 00:12:25,177 to this separate entity with these boards. 387 00:12:25,478 --> 00:12:26,579 -Do you regret doing that? 388 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:28,547 I mean, that's something you set up. -It is. 389 00:12:28,547 --> 00:12:28,814 I mean, 390 00:12:28,814 --> 00:12:30,149 we put the electeds there, 391 00:12:30,149 --> 00:12:31,250 but you do not have that 392 00:12:31,250 --> 00:12:32,718 direct line of accountability. 393 00:12:32,718 --> 00:12:34,253 And therefore, I think the attention, 394 00:12:34,253 --> 00:12:36,422 the motivation to get to get it right, 395 00:12:37,823 --> 00:12:39,425 it's diminished. 396 00:12:39,425 --> 00:12:41,660 And you see in L.A., for example, 397 00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:43,863 they set one of these up years ago. 398 00:12:43,863 --> 00:12:45,631 They're Los Angeles regional. 399 00:12:45,631 --> 00:12:46,832 They've just voted to dissolve it 400 00:12:46,832 --> 00:12:48,901 because it had the same financial problems 401 00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:50,669 that they were not delivering on the results. 402 00:12:50,669 --> 00:12:51,237 And L.A. 403 00:12:51,237 --> 00:12:51,871 County said, 404 00:12:51,871 --> 00:12:53,205 give us this authority back, 405 00:12:53,205 --> 00:12:54,273 because we think with our 406 00:12:54,273 --> 00:12:55,775 attention on the matter, it can work. 407 00:12:55,775 --> 00:12:58,410 Let me give you one example. Sure. If I can. 408 00:12:58,410 --> 00:13:00,513 If we dissolve this and say we bring back 409 00:13:00,513 --> 00:13:01,981 some regional functions to the county, 410 00:13:01,981 --> 00:13:03,949 we put about 43 million a year in the city, 411 00:13:03,949 --> 00:13:05,985 puts about 100 million a year in, 412 00:13:05,985 --> 00:13:07,219 the city can coordinate 413 00:13:07,219 --> 00:13:08,621 with their human services department 414 00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:11,257 along with providing these shelter services. 415 00:13:11,257 --> 00:13:11,857 The county 416 00:13:11,857 --> 00:13:13,893 we run, the regional behavioral health system, 417 00:13:13,893 --> 00:13:15,961 that's a co-occurring issue in many cases. 418 00:13:15,961 --> 00:13:18,297 You could see a better performing system overall 419 00:13:18,297 --> 00:13:21,233 if you've got integration rather than separation 420 00:13:22,368 --> 00:13:23,903 of service in this space. 421 00:13:23,903 --> 00:13:25,237 So I think there's some opportunity 422 00:13:25,237 --> 00:13:27,173 to deliver a better response 423 00:13:27,173 --> 00:13:28,908 that have an end 424 00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:29,642 that's governed 425 00:13:29,642 --> 00:13:30,176 and paid 426 00:13:30,176 --> 00:13:31,177 attention to by folks 427 00:13:31,177 --> 00:13:32,278 who are working on it every day 428 00:13:32,278 --> 00:13:33,546 that have direct accountability 429 00:13:33,546 --> 00:13:36,015 to the voters who want this addressed. 430 00:13:36,015 --> 00:13:36,749 -Okay, Lisa, 431 00:13:36,749 --> 00:13:37,950 I want to make sure I draw you in here, 432 00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:38,984 because the timing of 433 00:13:38,984 --> 00:13:40,486 this is really important here, 434 00:13:40,486 --> 00:13:41,554 because I've heard some 435 00:13:41,554 --> 00:13:43,556 concerns from providers that say 436 00:13:43,556 --> 00:13:45,357 ending this agreement with the KCRHA 437 00:13:45,357 --> 00:13:47,359 potentially too quickly could result 438 00:13:47,359 --> 00:13:48,961 in some serious instability 439 00:13:48,961 --> 00:13:49,862 for people experiencing 440 00:13:49,862 --> 00:13:51,163 homelessness as well as the 441 00:13:51,163 --> 00:13:52,898 organizations that serve them. 442 00:13:52,898 --> 00:13:54,300 Talk to me about this timeline. 443 00:13:54,300 --> 00:13:54,700 A year, 444 00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:56,502 maybe less, maybe more that Councilmember 445 00:13:56,502 --> 00:13:58,737 Dembowski is talking about here. 446 00:13:58,737 --> 00:14:00,105 Is that taking things too fast? 447 00:14:00,105 --> 00:14:02,107 What do you have your eye on here? 448 00:14:02,107 --> 00:14:02,942 -Well, first of all, 449 00:14:02,942 --> 00:14:05,144 I don't want to speak for every homeless service 450 00:14:05,144 --> 00:14:07,947 provider in the region, but I do appreciate that 451 00:14:07,947 --> 00:14:09,849 the Coalition on Homelessness has provided 452 00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:11,116 some really important leadership 453 00:14:11,116 --> 00:14:14,587 here, and my organization is strongly aligned 454 00:14:15,087 --> 00:14:16,188 with their position on this, 455 00:14:16,188 --> 00:14:17,656 which is that we need to 456 00:14:17,656 --> 00:14:19,024 we're asking the wrong question 457 00:14:19,024 --> 00:14:22,828 about whether and when KCRHA should be unwind. 458 00:14:22,862 --> 00:14:23,963 Many of us 459 00:14:23,963 --> 00:14:25,831 would not have recommended going down this path 460 00:14:25,831 --> 00:14:28,133 in the first place and warned 461 00:14:28,133 --> 00:14:29,368 that it wasn't a solution. 462 00:14:29,368 --> 00:14:31,103 But we are here now. 463 00:14:31,103 --> 00:14:34,340 We don't get to go back in history and sort of undo 464 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:35,174 those mistakes. 465 00:14:35,174 --> 00:14:37,343 We can only go forward in a way 466 00:14:37,343 --> 00:14:39,778 that does the least harm 467 00:14:39,778 --> 00:14:41,080 and that puts us collectively 468 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,015 in the best position to succeed. 469 00:14:43,015 --> 00:14:44,750 So those should really be the questions. 470 00:14:44,750 --> 00:14:46,285 And we're asking elected officials 471 00:14:46,285 --> 00:14:48,754 to approach this conversation 472 00:14:48,754 --> 00:14:51,757 now with a truly, genuinely open mind. 473 00:14:51,757 --> 00:14:52,491 The resolution 474 00:14:52,491 --> 00:14:55,828 that councilmembers Baron, Fain, and the Dembowski 475 00:14:56,395 --> 00:14:58,297 brought forward that the county actually doesn't 476 00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:02,134 does not presume an unwind. 477 00:15:02,134 --> 00:15:04,536 It is a sort of exploration 478 00:15:04,536 --> 00:15:06,272 calls for an excellent exploration. 479 00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:08,407 Of course we support that. 480 00:15:08,407 --> 00:15:11,310 But the key things that we collectively have 481 00:15:11,310 --> 00:15:12,444 to bear in mind is 482 00:15:12,444 --> 00:15:16,115 we cannot afford to spend money on recreation 483 00:15:16,115 --> 00:15:19,251 of new bureaucracies, especially now. 484 00:15:19,785 --> 00:15:21,453 When KCRHA was created, 485 00:15:21,453 --> 00:15:23,188 there was an enormous one time 486 00:15:23,188 --> 00:15:25,291 cost of building a new bureaucracy. 487 00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:27,793 And I guarantee you there will be an enormous 488 00:15:27,793 --> 00:15:28,294 one time 489 00:15:28,294 --> 00:15:30,195 cost of undoing that bureaucracy 490 00:15:30,195 --> 00:15:32,364 and creating two more in its stead, 491 00:15:32,364 --> 00:15:34,233 both the city and the county are looking 492 00:15:34,233 --> 00:15:36,702 at very serious structural budget 493 00:15:36,702 --> 00:15:39,004 deficits, operating budget deficits. 494 00:15:39,004 --> 00:15:41,740 And any dollar we spend on sort of 495 00:15:41,740 --> 00:15:43,742 moving the deck chairs on the Titanic 496 00:15:43,742 --> 00:15:45,244 about sort of the creation 497 00:15:45,244 --> 00:15:47,579 of bureaucracies, is a dollar not available 498 00:15:47,579 --> 00:15:49,648 to meet fundamental human needs. 499 00:15:49,648 --> 00:15:52,484 So we should only do that if we absolutely 500 00:15:52,484 --> 00:15:53,352 have to do that. 501 00:15:53,352 --> 00:15:56,422 And there is not a way to carry forward 502 00:15:56,422 --> 00:15:57,656 by taking control 503 00:15:57,656 --> 00:15:59,692 of the structure that was built 504 00:15:59,692 --> 00:16:01,293 and achieving 505 00:16:01,293 --> 00:16:02,761 the accountability that Councilmember 506 00:16:02,761 --> 00:16:05,030 Dembowski mentioned. -Yeah, What else? 507 00:16:05,030 --> 00:16:05,631 -Sorry. 508 00:16:05,631 --> 00:16:07,199 briefly, could you, Lisa, what was it? 509 00:16:07,199 --> 00:16:10,002 -Well, I just wanted to say, I think there are 510 00:16:10,002 --> 00:16:11,804 this could get worse and there are 511 00:16:12,805 --> 00:16:14,039 there are things we could lose 512 00:16:14,039 --> 00:16:15,941 or stand to lose that we must not lose. 513 00:16:15,941 --> 00:16:17,309 One is 514 00:16:17,309 --> 00:16:20,612 we are right in the moment where new federal funding 515 00:16:20,612 --> 00:16:22,848 direction is about to be a continuum of care. 516 00:16:22,848 --> 00:16:26,385 Money saved and KCRHA as it's currently organized 517 00:16:26,385 --> 00:16:26,819 is that 518 00:16:26,819 --> 00:16:30,956 is the sort of vehicle for our region to apply for 519 00:16:30,956 --> 00:16:32,891 and receive that federal funding. 520 00:16:32,891 --> 00:16:33,926 And they are doing 521 00:16:33,926 --> 00:16:36,996 a good job of strategizing how we need to sort 522 00:16:36,996 --> 00:16:37,896 of pivot 523 00:16:37,896 --> 00:16:38,964 and put ourselves 524 00:16:38,964 --> 00:16:41,967 in the best position to receive those funds. 525 00:16:42,001 --> 00:16:44,970 They have some great staff and they have 526 00:16:45,404 --> 00:16:47,740 been the project manager for the best single 527 00:16:47,740 --> 00:16:49,341 response to unsheltered homelessness 528 00:16:49,341 --> 00:16:51,844 that we've seen as a region for many, many years. 529 00:16:51,844 --> 00:16:53,445 So we have 530 00:16:53,445 --> 00:16:55,981 some assets there that we need to not lose. 531 00:16:55,981 --> 00:16:58,117 -Can I put aside the federal piece just for a second? 532 00:16:58,117 --> 00:16:59,251 I think there was something 533 00:16:59,251 --> 00:17:00,753 you wanted to respond to earlier. 534 00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:02,788 -My friend Lisa referenced the Titanic 535 00:17:02,788 --> 00:17:05,357 and the KCRHA is the Titanic, 536 00:17:05,357 --> 00:17:06,792 and there may be some cost to move 537 00:17:06,792 --> 00:17:08,560 the deck chairs to the shore, 538 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:09,661 but we've got to do it. 539 00:17:09,661 --> 00:17:12,097 And these short term issues with respect 540 00:17:12,097 --> 00:17:13,866 to the continuum of care, 541 00:17:13,866 --> 00:17:15,200 funding from the feds, that's 542 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:16,935 a one year, two year, maybe a couple of grant cycles. 543 00:17:16,935 --> 00:17:17,636 We used to do that 544 00:17:17,636 --> 00:17:18,404 at the county, 545 00:17:18,404 --> 00:17:19,972 it was sent over to the case, 546 00:17:19,972 --> 00:17:20,372 our state 547 00:17:20,372 --> 00:17:21,340 that can be managed through 548 00:17:21,340 --> 00:17:23,709 and it should be managed through carefully. 549 00:17:23,709 --> 00:17:24,943 But I don't think 550 00:17:24,943 --> 00:17:25,778 we should let 551 00:17:25,778 --> 00:17:28,781 some of these short term transitional issues 552 00:17:28,847 --> 00:17:31,350 take away from what we've got is a long term 553 00:17:31,350 --> 00:17:33,152 structural issue here that needs to be addressed. 554 00:17:33,152 --> 00:17:34,186 -But you're seeing the concern, 555 00:17:34,186 --> 00:17:35,087 I think I've heard it 556 00:17:35,087 --> 00:17:37,389 from some Seattle City Councilmembers, too. 557 00:17:37,389 --> 00:17:38,157 They kind of know 558 00:17:38,157 --> 00:17:40,025 what KCRHA is, but they don't know 559 00:17:40,025 --> 00:17:42,027 what KCRHA 2.0 is. 560 00:17:42,027 --> 00:17:45,164 So what would the homeless response for the county, 561 00:17:45,164 --> 00:17:46,365 the region look like? 562 00:17:46,365 --> 00:17:48,167 What can you present to assure taxpayers 563 00:17:48,167 --> 00:17:49,601 that you are being accountable, 564 00:17:49,601 --> 00:17:52,071 that their money is not going to waste? 565 00:17:53,806 --> 00:17:54,740 -Well, you know, 566 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:56,875 I think KCRHA needs to answer those questions. 567 00:17:56,875 --> 00:17:57,543 And the answer is 568 00:17:57,543 --> 00:17:59,178 they haven't been accountable and their money 569 00:17:59,178 --> 00:18:00,979 has gone to waste on a massive scale. 570 00:18:00,979 --> 00:18:02,981 They've got nearly a hundred staff 571 00:18:02,981 --> 00:18:04,383 there at the Authority. 572 00:18:04,383 --> 00:18:05,150 I mean, they came out 573 00:18:05,150 --> 00:18:08,153 with an unreasonable, ungrounded 574 00:18:08,287 --> 00:18:11,423 plan for $12 billion to solve the problem. 575 00:18:11,723 --> 00:18:14,159 That's the kind of conduct you get 576 00:18:14,159 --> 00:18:17,196 when you're not engaged with elected folks 577 00:18:17,196 --> 00:18:18,730 who are connected to the public. 578 00:18:18,730 --> 00:18:21,800 Look, I, I think there's been we've had this mantra 579 00:18:22,434 --> 00:18:23,902 homelessness is a regional problem, 580 00:18:23,902 --> 00:18:25,237 requires a regional response. 581 00:18:25,237 --> 00:18:27,272 -Do you believe that? -It is a regional problem. 582 00:18:27,272 --> 00:18:28,740 But I don't think we're acting 583 00:18:28,740 --> 00:18:30,576 and I don't believe necessarily 584 00:18:30,576 --> 00:18:32,878 that a regional response is the right answer. 585 00:18:32,878 --> 00:18:34,446 We've got to have some regional coordination. 586 00:18:34,446 --> 00:18:36,615 But what works for the city of Seattle 587 00:18:36,615 --> 00:18:37,182 isn't really 588 00:18:37,182 --> 00:18:39,218 what the city of Auburn or the city of Bellevue 589 00:18:39,218 --> 00:18:40,419 or the city of Kenmore want to do. 590 00:18:40,419 --> 00:18:42,454 And we have responsible elected leaders, 591 00:18:42,454 --> 00:18:44,790 city councils and mayors all over this county 592 00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:46,158 who are stepping up in their own 593 00:18:46,158 --> 00:18:48,293 jurisdictions and responding to this. 594 00:18:48,293 --> 00:18:49,895 Lisa's outstanding organization 595 00:18:49,895 --> 00:18:51,930 works with communities like in Burien 596 00:18:51,930 --> 00:18:54,032 and in Seattle and up in Lake City. 597 00:18:54,032 --> 00:18:56,502 She sees that communities want to respond. 598 00:18:56,502 --> 00:18:57,236 And I think that 599 00:18:57,236 --> 00:18:59,905 you actually may see more resources delivered 600 00:18:59,905 --> 00:19:02,741 on a localized basis responding to local need. 601 00:19:02,741 --> 00:19:04,710 If we, you know, empower those. 602 00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:07,946 This notion of a top down Seattle based centralized 603 00:19:07,946 --> 00:19:10,983 answer to 2.3 million people countywide, 604 00:19:10,983 --> 00:19:11,683 our population 605 00:19:11,683 --> 00:19:12,851 and the challenges in their communities, 606 00:19:13,919 --> 00:19:15,954 it may be just too big, too cumbersome. 607 00:19:15,954 --> 00:19:17,222 -I want to come back to you on that, 608 00:19:17,222 --> 00:19:17,856 but I wanted to make 609 00:19:17,856 --> 00:19:20,125 sure I brought you in here because this idea 610 00:19:20,125 --> 00:19:22,294 of getting all the different cities involved, 611 00:19:22,294 --> 00:19:23,462 that was a very important 612 00:19:23,462 --> 00:19:25,164 part of launching the KCRHA 613 00:19:25,164 --> 00:19:26,565 And I think about this, 614 00:19:26,565 --> 00:19:29,368 King County and Seattle are the big, big money. 615 00:19:29,368 --> 00:19:30,302 They're the big money in this. 616 00:19:30,302 --> 00:19:31,336 There are seven other cities 617 00:19:31,336 --> 00:19:33,272 that pay in a coalition of five cities. 618 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:35,340 In North King County got Bellevue and Redmond, too. 619 00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:36,241 But all together, 620 00:19:36,241 --> 00:19:38,577 those seven smaller cities are only paying in 621 00:19:38,577 --> 00:19:42,915 about $440,000 for a $205 million agency. 622 00:19:43,148 --> 00:19:45,117 Talk to me about that issue of having buy 623 00:19:45,117 --> 00:19:46,051 in from cities 624 00:19:46,051 --> 00:19:47,319 outside of Seattle, 625 00:19:47,319 --> 00:19:49,888 because I think that was the push early, but 626 00:19:49,888 --> 00:19:50,822 it didn't really happen. 627 00:19:50,822 --> 00:19:52,791 Did that kill the KCRHA? 628 00:19:52,791 --> 00:19:54,159 And I don't mean to use the word 629 00:19:54,159 --> 00:19:55,160 the verb too strongly, 630 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:56,562 but what do you think about that? 631 00:19:56,562 --> 00:19:58,197 -Yeah, I think that Councilmember 632 00:19:58,197 --> 00:20:00,499 Dembowski is correct, that we have now 633 00:20:00,499 --> 00:20:04,269 had seven years of running that experiment, 634 00:20:04,269 --> 00:20:08,040 and it has not proven to be an effective way to forge 635 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,909 a county wide consensus on the way forward. 636 00:20:10,909 --> 00:20:11,710 And I want to call out 637 00:20:11,710 --> 00:20:13,545 Lorena Gonzalez when she was on the city 638 00:20:13,545 --> 00:20:16,148 council, was the Lone City Council vote against. 639 00:20:16,148 --> 00:20:16,915 And this was 640 00:20:16,915 --> 00:20:18,450 one of the reasons that she cited 641 00:20:18,450 --> 00:20:20,519 that she, the city and the county 642 00:20:20,519 --> 00:20:23,322 city of Seattle and King County would pay for this. 643 00:20:23,322 --> 00:20:24,356 And there is kind of a bet, 644 00:20:24,356 --> 00:20:25,290 but with surrender 645 00:20:25,290 --> 00:20:26,391 policy direction 646 00:20:26,391 --> 00:20:29,394 to all the governments in the region. 647 00:20:29,695 --> 00:20:32,798 And that just hasn't that hasn't worked. So 648 00:20:33,832 --> 00:20:36,301 but I do think that we 649 00:20:36,301 --> 00:20:39,671 you know, the $12 billion plan, 650 00:20:40,072 --> 00:20:41,506 which is not that far off from what 651 00:20:41,506 --> 00:20:43,442 McKinsey said it would cost, by the way, 652 00:20:43,442 --> 00:20:44,776 to actually solve homelessness 653 00:20:44,776 --> 00:20:46,411 in King County 654 00:20:46,411 --> 00:20:49,381 and some of the more extreme 655 00:20:49,915 --> 00:20:52,384 misfires have been corrected. 656 00:20:52,384 --> 00:20:54,586 There has already been structural reforms, 657 00:20:54,586 --> 00:20:57,589 so the governing bodies have been, 658 00:20:57,823 --> 00:21:00,659 I think, appropriately restructured. 659 00:21:00,659 --> 00:21:02,527 And I think, you know, 660 00:21:02,527 --> 00:21:03,528 county and city 661 00:21:03,528 --> 00:21:06,265 city of Seattle leaders are in a position, 662 00:21:06,265 --> 00:21:09,234 should they so choose, to kind of pull on their 663 00:21:09,234 --> 00:21:09,801 big people 664 00:21:09,801 --> 00:21:13,338 pants and provide direction to this agency. 665 00:21:13,338 --> 00:21:15,474 They have the power to do that. 666 00:21:15,474 --> 00:21:16,441 It's awkward. 667 00:21:16,441 --> 00:21:17,609 It's an awkward structure, 668 00:21:17,609 --> 00:21:19,945 but it is not impossible to do that. 669 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:20,379 So to me, 670 00:21:20,379 --> 00:21:24,283 it really again comes down to opportunity costs 671 00:21:24,650 --> 00:21:27,419 for the scarce resources that we're talking about. 672 00:21:28,620 --> 00:21:30,622 Talking about it will cost money to fix. 673 00:21:30,622 --> 00:21:31,590 KCRHA 674 00:21:31,590 --> 00:21:33,959 might be an interesting exercise to say. 675 00:21:33,959 --> 00:21:35,427 It has to be cost neutral 676 00:21:35,427 --> 00:21:36,962 and we have to make these changes. 677 00:21:36,962 --> 00:21:38,830 So why do we have to cut in order to do that? 678 00:21:38,830 --> 00:21:41,833 Not direct services, but 679 00:21:42,100 --> 00:21:45,270 it will certainly cost more than that 680 00:21:45,570 --> 00:21:48,140 to restructure these 681 00:21:48,140 --> 00:21:50,375 these functions at the city of Seattle 682 00:21:50,375 --> 00:21:52,244 and King County collectively. 683 00:21:52,244 --> 00:21:55,747 So there is no free pass to unwinding this 684 00:21:55,747 --> 00:21:57,649 and we can't pay for any 685 00:21:57,649 --> 00:21:59,785 unnecessary administrative expenditures. 686 00:21:59,785 --> 00:22:00,686 -Councilmember Dembowski 687 00:22:00,686 --> 00:22:01,820 I want to make sure we 688 00:22:01,820 --> 00:22:04,656 talk to this whole idea of getting regional buy in. 689 00:22:04,656 --> 00:22:05,924 Homelessness certainly is a problem 690 00:22:05,924 --> 00:22:07,225 without borders here. 691 00:22:07,225 --> 00:22:09,261 How do you avoid going back to square one 692 00:22:09,261 --> 00:22:10,262 where people 693 00:22:10,262 --> 00:22:11,463 who are homeless around our area 694 00:22:11,463 --> 00:22:13,465 just come to the cities that have resources? 695 00:22:13,465 --> 00:22:15,534 I think that's a big concern here too. 696 00:22:15,534 --> 00:22:17,135 -Yeah, I mean, there's some 697 00:22:17,135 --> 00:22:18,203 there's some truth to that. 698 00:22:18,203 --> 00:22:20,772 But I just want to remind folks, since 1968, 699 00:22:20,772 --> 00:22:22,240 when the county charter was established 700 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,376 by the voters, we are the regional government. 701 00:22:24,376 --> 00:22:26,611 We have systems and structures in place. 702 00:22:26,611 --> 00:22:27,813 For example, our public health 703 00:22:27,813 --> 00:22:28,914 department is regional. 704 00:22:28,914 --> 00:22:30,649 We do it in partnership with the city of Seattle. 705 00:22:30,649 --> 00:22:31,950 We have a regional policy 706 00:22:31,950 --> 00:22:33,151 committee that brings together 707 00:22:33,151 --> 00:22:34,586 City of Seattle councilmembers, 708 00:22:34,586 --> 00:22:35,987 suburban city councilmembers, 709 00:22:35,987 --> 00:22:37,189 county council members 710 00:22:37,189 --> 00:22:38,623 to work on these kind of issues. 711 00:22:38,623 --> 00:22:39,658 So there are forums, 712 00:22:39,658 --> 00:22:41,360 infrastructure and systems in place 713 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:43,595 at the county as your regional government 714 00:22:43,595 --> 00:22:45,630 to bring that work in. 715 00:22:45,630 --> 00:22:48,333 We also have a philosophy and an ethos of supporting 716 00:22:48,333 --> 00:22:49,601 our local city partners. 717 00:22:49,601 --> 00:22:50,535 You know, again, 718 00:22:50,535 --> 00:22:51,803 I don't think that all 719 00:22:51,803 --> 00:22:54,873 parts of the response here need to be regionalized. 720 00:22:54,873 --> 00:22:55,807 One size fits all. 721 00:22:55,807 --> 00:22:57,676 We should support our local cities 722 00:22:57,676 --> 00:22:59,077 and city councils and mayors 723 00:22:59,077 --> 00:23:00,479 who care about this issue 724 00:23:00,479 --> 00:23:01,813 because it's right in their neighborhood. 725 00:23:01,813 --> 00:23:03,315 They want to make investments. 726 00:23:03,315 --> 00:23:04,950 And I think that, you know, that, 727 00:23:04,950 --> 00:23:07,419 frankly, is what's occurring. -Yeah. Okay. 728 00:23:07,419 --> 00:23:07,719 Thank you. 729 00:23:07,719 --> 00:23:08,820 I need to start wrapping up 730 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:10,589 and I want to get an idea of what people 731 00:23:10,589 --> 00:23:12,457 can expect to see over the next few months 732 00:23:12,457 --> 00:23:14,092 when it comes to the KCRHA. 733 00:23:14,092 --> 00:23:15,127 Councilmember Dembowski, 734 00:23:15,127 --> 00:23:16,528 I can give you about a minute here. 735 00:23:16,528 --> 00:23:19,531 Is dismantling this agency a done deal in your mind? 736 00:23:19,564 --> 00:23:20,799 -It's not. In my mind, 737 00:23:20,799 --> 00:23:22,567 it should be done. Politically, 738 00:23:22,567 --> 00:23:24,002 there's still a conversation to have. 739 00:23:24,002 --> 00:23:25,337 So at the county, we've adopted 740 00:23:25,337 --> 00:23:27,572 the resolution that Lisa mentioned 741 00:23:27,572 --> 00:23:28,473 that we're going to look at what 742 00:23:28,473 --> 00:23:31,042 it would take over the next 90 days, 743 00:23:31,042 --> 00:23:32,210 what it would look like. 744 00:23:32,210 --> 00:23:33,445 We’ll engage with stakeholders, 745 00:23:33,445 --> 00:23:36,348 including providers, city partners and others, 746 00:23:36,348 --> 00:23:38,650 to make sure that if we do do this, 747 00:23:38,650 --> 00:23:40,952 that there would be a smooth transition, 748 00:23:40,952 --> 00:23:43,655 no disruption or minimal to our service providers. 749 00:23:43,655 --> 00:23:44,723 That's foundational. 750 00:23:44,723 --> 00:23:47,092 And yeah, it's going to cost us some money. 751 00:23:47,092 --> 00:23:49,795 But I think that we've spent a lot of money, 752 00:23:49,795 --> 00:23:51,730 we've wasted a lot of money for six years 753 00:23:51,730 --> 00:23:54,866 and I am not of the opinion that that waste will stop 754 00:23:54,866 --> 00:23:56,301 if we let it continue just because 755 00:23:56,301 --> 00:23:58,770 of the fundamental problems with the structure. 756 00:23:58,770 --> 00:23:59,538 So that's what we do over 757 00:23:59,538 --> 00:24:01,473 the next 90 days will have a conversation 758 00:24:01,473 --> 00:24:03,942 and see in August where we are. 759 00:24:03,942 --> 00:24:05,110 -Okay, sounds good. 760 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:06,545 Lisa, I'm going to let you wrap up here. 761 00:24:06,545 --> 00:24:07,112 What are you going 762 00:24:07,112 --> 00:24:08,580 to be working on over the next couple of months 763 00:24:08,580 --> 00:24:09,781 as we head into summer 764 00:24:09,781 --> 00:24:11,883 to make sure vulnerable populations 765 00:24:11,883 --> 00:24:13,718 in our region aren't getting hurt by this? 766 00:24:14,953 --> 00:24:15,854 -Well, I think 767 00:24:15,854 --> 00:24:19,357 all of us are pleading with our elected officials 768 00:24:20,091 --> 00:24:23,361 to enter this next period with open minds and not 769 00:24:23,562 --> 00:24:25,030 set a table for a conversation 770 00:24:25,030 --> 00:24:27,332 that has a forwarding conclusion. 771 00:24:27,332 --> 00:24:28,667 And at that table, 772 00:24:28,667 --> 00:24:30,469 I think it's not completely clear, 773 00:24:30,469 --> 00:24:32,571 but providers need to be there. 774 00:24:32,571 --> 00:24:35,807 The exclusion of experts in the field 775 00:24:35,807 --> 00:24:37,843 from the formation of KCRHA 776 00:24:37,843 --> 00:24:40,078 and its early months and years 777 00:24:40,078 --> 00:24:41,880 is one of the reasons it's set off. 778 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,349 So in such a shaky way. 779 00:24:44,349 --> 00:24:46,351 We need to not repeat that mistake. 780 00:24:46,351 --> 00:24:49,921 So we ask that providers be at the table 781 00:24:49,921 --> 00:24:52,591 for those conversations and that elected officials 782 00:24:52,591 --> 00:24:54,326 genuinely have an open mind 783 00:24:54,326 --> 00:24:58,263 to find the best road forward from here, even if 784 00:24:58,763 --> 00:25:00,866 they as I think many do regret 785 00:25:00,866 --> 00:25:02,334 that we started on this path. 786 00:25:02,334 --> 00:25:05,270 This is where we are and we need to have a do 787 00:25:05,270 --> 00:25:09,307 no harm, open mind stance for the next three months. 788 00:25:09,374 --> 00:25:11,643 -Okay. Real quickly, -Lisa's absolutely right. 789 00:25:11,643 --> 00:25:13,111 Providers need to be there, 790 00:25:13,111 --> 00:25:15,013 but the taxpayer and the voter 791 00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:16,681 and the general public's needs to be there. 792 00:25:16,681 --> 00:25:18,016 Their interest needs to be there. 793 00:25:18,016 --> 00:25:19,017 And I will tell you, 794 00:25:19,017 --> 00:25:21,686 it is overwhelmingly apparent 795 00:25:21,686 --> 00:25:23,455 that the emperor has no clothes here. 796 00:25:23,455 --> 00:25:25,690 The public has said this has failed. 797 00:25:25,690 --> 00:25:26,591 You need to end it. 798 00:25:26,591 --> 00:25:27,559 And I go back to that 799 00:25:27,559 --> 00:25:29,761 essential foundation of our democracy, 800 00:25:29,761 --> 00:25:31,396 the feedback and accountability loop 801 00:25:31,396 --> 00:25:31,863 and the trust 802 00:25:31,863 --> 00:25:33,598 with the voters who write the checks. 803 00:25:33,598 --> 00:25:35,734 And if they are not supportive of this, 804 00:25:35,734 --> 00:25:37,702 this is destined to fail no matter what 805 00:25:37,702 --> 00:25:39,905 the provider community wants. -Okay. All right. 806 00:25:39,905 --> 00:25:41,006 -What comes next 807 00:25:41,006 --> 00:25:42,974 also needs not to fail 808 00:25:42,974 --> 00:25:45,243 that same public. And the expertise 809 00:25:45,243 --> 00:25:48,046 of elected officials and providers is needed 810 00:25:48,046 --> 00:25:49,548 to make sure that we're not back here 811 00:25:49,548 --> 00:25:51,883 in a couple of years regretting this choice. 812 00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:52,684 -Thank you both for that. 813 00:25:52,684 --> 00:25:55,053 And we will be right back. 814 00:25:55,053 --> 00:25:56,688 What are people saying online 815 00:25:56,688 --> 00:25:59,090 about dissolving the KCRHA? 816 00:25:59,090 --> 00:26:00,692 One person writes, 817 00:26:13,171 --> 00:26:14,773 Another person says 818 00:26:26,551 --> 00:26:28,653 We'd like to know what you think. 819 00:26:28,653 --> 00:26:31,656 Email us at Contact@SeattleChannel.org 820 00:26:31,823 --> 00:26:34,626 or find us on social media. 821 00:26:34,626 --> 00:26:36,227 Great to have that feedback and a big 822 00:26:36,227 --> 00:26:37,395 thanks to co-executive 823 00:26:37,395 --> 00:26:39,264 director of Purpose, Dignity, Action, 824 00:26:39,264 --> 00:26:40,231 Lisa Daugaard. 825 00:26:40,231 --> 00:26:42,601 Also a big thanks to Councilmember 826 00:26:42,601 --> 00:26:44,536 Rob Dembowski from King County Council. 827 00:26:44,536 --> 00:26:45,870 Really appreciate you being here. 828 00:26:45,870 --> 00:26:47,439 -It's been great. Thank you. 829 00:26:47,439 --> 00:26:49,107 -Thank you so much for having us. -You bet. 830 00:26:49,107 --> 00:26:50,942 And we'll see you next time on City Inside-Out. 831 00:26:51,509 --> 00:27:05,357 ♪♪