Your Weekly Update on What's Happening at the King County Council  

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

If you’ve been following the news recently, you’ve likely seen growing attention given to efforts to hold King County accountable for potential waste and misuse of public funds.

This effort began years ago, when I raised concerns about oversight in County contracting and called for a state audit of the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) diversion programs. In 2024, I formally requested an Audit to the King County Auditor. And in 2023, I wrote an op-ed in the Seattle Times calling for King County to end its participation in the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), because elected officials shouldn’t pass the task of fighting homelessness to an unelected body that has no accountability to taxpayers.

Since then:

• The DCHS audit confirmed serious issues in oversight and contract management at DCHS.
• The Seattle Times wrote an Editorial about my work to push spending accountability (READ—Seattle Times: Councilmember Dunn deserves credit for pushing accountability at King County).
• A separate forensic evaluation report of the KCRHA identified significant financial and operational failures.
• And an ongoing investigation tied to the original audit—recently referred to the Office of the Ombuds following my request to ensure independence—is expected to release its findings soon.

But all the effort to bring these issues to light hasn’t been for nothing. In response to the DCHS Audit, the Council unanimously passed my grant reform legislation to strengthen controls over taxpayer-funded programs. We’ve also begun seeing the implementation of the Auditor’s recommendations to improve DCHS accountability, and Executive Zahilay recently issued an Executive Order focused on establishing better governance practices to strengthen financial oversight and improve accountability and transparency.

Now, I’m working with CM Rod Dembowski and others on additional legislation to establish an Inspector General division to strengthen independent oversight, as well as to dissolve the KCRHA so that public dollars can be better and more efficiently spent in a more accountable structure. I’m also excited to introduce reforms regarding the County’s ethics programs and procedures—more on that soon.

There is still much more to do, but I am encouraged to see these issues brought to the forefront of the public conversation. With affordability on all of our minds, it remains imperative that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently, effectively, and free from waste and abuse.

I look forward to continuing this work with my colleagues and sharing our progress with you.

All my best,

Reagan Dunn
King County Councilmember
District 9

Vising Newcastle and Meeting with Mayor Sherlock

Councilmember Dunn and Mayor Ariana Sherlock meet in Newcastle.

It was great to be in Newcastle to meet with Mayor Ariana Sherlock and welcome her to her new position as Mayor! We had a thorough conversation about the issues that matter most to the Newcastle community and the opportunities ahead for our region.

Whether it’s improving public places, connecting communities, or ensuring residents can afford to live and work in King County, I always value my time working with Newcastle’s leadership. I look forward to partnering with Mayor Sherlock as we serve our mutual constituents and strengthen our community.

King County Opens New Disaster Recovery Center to Help Residents Apply for Federal Assistance

Drone footage of an Enumclaw neighborhood during the December 2025 flood event. Photo courtesy Enumclaw Police Department via the Enumclaw Courier Herald.

I am pleased to share with you that, this week, King County began operating a Disaster Recovery Center to help residents impacted by the flooding in December 2025 with applications for federal disaster assistance. I greatly appreciate Executive Zahilay’s leadership and want to thank him for his efforts to open this Disaster Recovery Center.

Residents in King County who were affected by the historic December 2025 flooding may now qualify for federal disaster assistance under Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance Program.  

After the flooding, Washington requested federal disaster declarations to help individuals affected by the atmospheric river flooding, as well as to help public entities repair infrastructure and partially reimburse their response efforts. The application deadline is June 10, 2026. 

From April 28 to June 10, King County will operate a Disaster Recovery Center for people who would like in-person assistance with their FEMA application. It is located at the King County Elections Office, 919 Southwest Grady Way, Renton, Washington 98057. The center is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Individuals can apply for the FEMA assistance in one of four ways: 

• Online: disasterassistance.gov 

• Phone: 800-621-3362 

• In person at the King County Disaster Recovery Center 

• Download and use the FEMA app 

Additionally, FEMA has announced that a second Disaster Assistance Center is opening in King County this Saturday. It will be open on May 2-3 from 10 am to 6 pm at The Outlet Collection mall parking lot, 1101 Outlet Collection Way.

Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.  

The Small Business Administration (SBA) will continue to offer low interest low interest federal disaster loans to Washington businesses, private nonprofit organizations, and residents affected by December's flooding event. To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster.

Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.  

The Disaster Recovery Center will also be able to help residents and business owners with their SBA applications.