The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) is asking for feedback on its proposal to spend nearly $12 billion to address homelessness over the next five years.
The proposal would drastically increase resources available for housing and social services, but the price tag is already drawing ire from some county leaders.
The KCRHA's 133-page draft plan asks for $8.4 billion in one-time capital costs over five years and up to $3.4 billion in annual operating costs. Split over five years, the annual cost of the plan would be approximately $2.36 billion, roughly 10 times more than the KCRHA's 2023 budget of $253 million.
"This is the level of investment needed to ensure thriving communities where every person has a safe and stable place to live," the plan states.
The proposal estimates the KCRHA would serve 23,000 more people annually for the next five years to end what the agency describes as unsheltered homelessness.
READ THE DRAFT PLAN:
King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn called the price of the plan "jaw dropping."
"Homelessness is a very serious problem, so it breaks my heart to see the KCRHA double down on Seattle’s failed policies on homelessness,” Dunn said in a statement. “We know from King County’s 2019 Point-in-Time Count that 45% of the homeless come here from outside our area to take advantage of our generous services. Until we come to terms with this, King County will be a dead-end street for the nation’s homelessness.”
Dunn added that the plan does not address behavioral health facilities, and drug rehabilitation programs.
"The problem is, I desperately want the homeless authority to work but when you do a $12-billion proposal ,which is an obvious overreach, you just lose credibility as an agency," Dunn said.
The KCRHA clarified that the agency is responsible for housing temporary shelters, while King County oversees its Behavioral Health and Recovery.
KCRHA CEO Marc Dones said the agency is responding to feedback on the draft plan.
“It’s good that we’re having the conversation at scale, that people are able to contend with the reality of it, rather than being told it’s a much smaller number and then not being able to square that with what progress they do or do not see," Dones told the KCRHA Implementation Committee.
The KCRHA is asking for feedback about the plan before Feb. 8. You can read more about the proposal and submit feedback on the KCRHA website.
The Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine provided a statement to KOMO News regarding KCRHA's budget proposal, saying in part that the plan is a "demonstration of our goal to implement a regional approach to addressing homelessness."
Read the full statement below:
The Executive appreciates the intensive work that has gone into the plan up to this point and is looking forward to hearing the feedback from community and other partners as the plan is refined and finalized. In its final form, the plan must be clear about the overall extent of the homelessness and housing crises while being focused and specific about how KCRHA will make progress on the crisis response for which they are directly responsible.
This draft plan is a demonstration of our goal to implement a regional approach to addressing homelessness. While there is still a lot of work to be done as the plan moves forward, including identifying the fiscal scope and the balance of temporary and permanent housing, it is exciting to see what is possible when we work together. The Executive looks forward to a more concise summary of recommendations in the weeks ahead.
A representative for Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell told KOMO News the city is working to provide feedback to the KCRHA before a vote on implementing the 5-year plan.
As the plan was only recently released and in draft form, City staff are working collaboratively with KCRHA to ask questions, understand proposals, and offer edits and additional considerations. Mayor Harrell appreciates the opportunity to review and provide feedback as KCRHA revises, strengthens, and finalizes this five-year roadmap. The Implementation Board will submit the final version of the Five-Year Plan to Mayor Harrell and the other Governing Committee members after the feedback sessions close for review and a vote.
Mayor Harrell supports KCHRA’s dedicated focus on ending unsheltered homelessness and prioritizing immediate and long-term solutions to help get people indoors with access to services and a path to recovery. Funding more than 70% of the KCRHA’s yearly budget and increasing our investment in 2023 despite a significant budget deficit, the City of Seattle and Mayor Harrell have made clear our commitment to addressing this crisis with urgency and available resources. For budget estimates included in the five-year proposal, we look forward to better understanding how existing investments will be applied and how we can unite support from local, state, and federal governments – along with private and philanthropic sources – to realistically meet budget expectations and advance solutions that drive tangible positive impact.