Seattle councilmember calls for fraud audit after county spending failures revealed

A Seattle city councilmember is calling for an audit in response to the growing scandal over taxpayer-funded social programs in Washington, but may have to wait years as oversight concerns continue to mount. Seattle Councilmember Maritza Rivera is urging a formal audit of the city’s Human Services Department contracts, citing alarming findings from a King County audit that uncovered weak financial controls, improper payments, and potential fraud within the county’s largest social services agency.

“The City works with many of the same human service organizations as the County,” Rivera said, warning that Seattle could face similar risks if oversight gaps are not addressed. Despite the urgency, the audit may not happen anytime soon. Seattle’s acting city auditor said the office is already at capacity through fall 2026, with only a five-person staff and recent leadership turnover.

While agreeing that oversight is “crucial,” the auditor’s office said it will evaluate the request when resources allow. That delay comes as scrutiny intensifies over how billions of taxpayer dollars are being distributed across local and state programs, with limited verification.

The concerns stem from an August 2025 King County audit, which found the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) failed to perform even basic financial oversight as spending surged. Between 2019 and 2024, the department’s grant awards nearly doubled from $922 million to $1.87 billion, fueled in large part by the “Best Starts for Kids” levy, which has generated over $2 billion in taxpayer funding.

Despite internal rules requiring annual in-depth reviews of one-third of contractors, the department reviewed just 2 percent in 2022, and only 1 percent in 2023. King County Auditor Kymber Waltmunson said she was “alarmed by the level of internal control failure” and warned that in the rush to distribute nearly $2 billion, the county had effectively left “the vault door wide open.”

The audit uncovered multiple examples of questionable spending, including a contractor who altered a $1,000 invoice to $7,000, tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses billed after contracts had expired, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized payments routed through subcontractors.

According to the Center Square, the King County Office of the Ombuds launched an investigation into potential contractor fraud, while County Executive Girmay Zahilay issued an executive order to tighten oversight, including new audit functions and expanded fraud-prevention training.

The King County findings mirror similar issues at the state level. Previous audits of the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) found over $1.3 billion in childcare spending was unauditable over four years due to missing records, along with $37 million in questionable payments identified in 2025.

Across both county and state programs, a pattern has emerged: massive spending increases paired with weak oversight, minimal verification, and delayed accountability.