Taxpayer Dollars at Risk?: Reagan Dunn demands accountability from King County
Aug 28, 2025, 5:02 AM | Updated: 12:26 pm
King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn hopes to tackle waste, fraud, and abuse. (Photo: KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: KIRO Newsradio)
Republican King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn has introduced new legislation to crack down on what he calls likely fraud and waste within the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS). The move follows a scathing King County Auditor’s report that revealed millions in taxpayer money are at risk due to a lack of oversight on contracts with community-based organizations.
The audit, which came after Dunn’s persistent calls for transparency, found that as DCHS’s contracting budget exploded from $22 million in 2019 to over $1.5 billion in 2023 and 2024, the department failed to implement basic financial safeguards. The report uncovered instances of improper payments and likely fraud, including contractors who allegedly altered invoices to inflate reimbursement requests and falsified documentation.
“King County has an obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly, transparently, and effectively,” Dunn said in a press release. “This audit unfortunately confirms what I have been warning about for years – inadequate oversight of community-based organizations’ contracts has left the door wide open for waste, fraud, and abuse. With affordability an urgent concern for families all across King County, it is simply unacceptable push such large amounts of taxpayer dollars out the door without the oversight needed to ensure the funds are actually helping those in need.”
Troubling findings in audit
The audit also revealed that nearly half of the organizations receiving county funds in 2024 were flagged as “high risk,” yet monitoring remained lax. It noted that prepaid debit cards and thousands of dollars in stipends were distributed with little to no tracking, and some subcontractors were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars outside the scope of their approved contracts.
Dunn’s legislation would require the department to develop and implement best practices for contract management and compliance, including annual risk assessments for all contractors and regular on-site visits to ensure funds are being used properly. The department must report back to the County Council on its progress by March 31, 2026.
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