Audit of Seattle-area parks can’t show whether millions in grants were used as intended

A recent performance audit has found that King County’s Parks and Recreation Division cannot demonstrate whether millions of dollars in public grant funding is being spent as intended, raising new questions about financial oversight in another Washington state government department.

The audit, conducted by the King County Auditor’s Office, shows that the parks grants program has expanded sharply over the past decade but that the division’s oversight strategies, documentation practices, and performance tracking have not kept pace with that growth. The division now manages a portfolio projected to exceed $100 million between 2026 and 2031, largely funded through the Parks Levy voters renewed in August 2025.

The grants, ranging from about $2,000 to more than $2 million, are designed to support nonprofit groups, community partners, tribes, cities, and other public entities investing in parks, trails, open space, and recreation facilities. But auditors said they could not confirm that grantees are using the funds in ways that align with program goals because key documentation and processes are missing or inconsistent.

To assess the program’s operations, auditors reviewed nearly 300 grants awarded in 2023 and 2024 and drilled down into a representative sample of 25. The audit concluded that gaps in financial procedures and unclear documentation standards prevented reviewers from verifying whether all payments were properly tied to the intended purposes. Auditors found that the division places a heavy emphasis on compliance paperwork, but that these demands lack clarity and are not tailored to the varying risk levels of individual grants. As a result, grantees and county staff face high administrative burdens without producing reliable evidence that money is being spent effectively or appropriately.

Investigators also noted that the Parks Division has yet to set specific, measurable objectives for its grants program and does not consistently track whether funded projects are achieving their stated outcomes. Without those goals and performance measures, the county cannot show residents what impact its investments are having on park access, quality, or equity across King County.

The audit comes amid broader scrutiny as questions mount over potential Minnesota-style fraud vulnerabilities in Washington’s taxpayer-funded programs. Rep. Jenny Graham (R-Spokane Valley) has introduced House Joint Memorial 4014, asking President Donald Trump and the US Department of Justice to investigate potential self-dealing and fraud within taxpayer-subsidized programs that fund race-based housing grants, daycare subsidies, and more. She told the Center Square, “We truly don’t have very good mechanisms set up to track when money is not being spent properly. There’s nothing that happens when money disappears. Who actually is held accountable for it?”

A Washington State Auditor’s audit of a $770 million DCYF child care subsidy program covering payments to more than 7,400 child care providers statewide revealed 1,372 overpayments totaling $2,092,513 from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, with many overpayments linked to missing attendance records and overbilled hours or days.

Yet, Washington’s Democratic lawmakers, including Attorney General Nick Brown, called allegations of fraud “baseless,” even as multiple state audits revealed hundreds of millions of dollars in spending at the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) has called for federal agencies to investigate whether Washington’s guardrails are strong enough to prevent similar fraud to what has been seen in Minnesota.