Kinnison, who was hired in 2024, told the board she had been asked to assess and rebuild a young organization facing significant challenges. "I'm proud of what I've achieved, including surfacing structural issues in our finance department and contributing to the path forward for a more accountable homelessness response system," she said.

The agency's financial problems have deepened dramatically. What was initially believed to be a $4.26 million deficit has grown to more than $16 million, according to an October report. Earlier reporting also revealed $8 million in missing funds. The crisis has prompted both King County and Seattle to take over contracts from the KCRHA.

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, co-chair of the KCRHA Governing Board, thanked Kinnison for her service in a statement. "She took on a challenging job to lead coordination on our region's most pressing issue amid a shifting federal landscape and structural issues within the authority," Zahilay said. He added that the county will continue working with Seattle, service providers, and other partners to ensure a smooth transition.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson also expressed gratitude for Kinnison's leadership and said a recommendation on interim leadership would be made soon. "I have a responsibility to the people of Seattle to ensure that financial challenges at KCRHA are addressed and stabilized," Wilson said.

Public frustration was palpable at Friday's meeting. Ryan Talen, a registered nurse, said he had planned to call for Kinnison's firing, arguing her resignation does not go far enough. "I am tired of watching public money wasted with no accountability when it should be helping my patients," Talen said. "Taxpayers in Seattle and King County will cover all of those dollars that money was for the homelessness crisis. It's money for the patients I send out the door with nowhere to go."

Talen warned that the scandal could erode public trust in homelessness funding as the region's homeless population has nearly doubled since the KCRHA was formed. "I vote yes on every housing levy and every story like this gives the next voter a reason to vote no," he said. "When that happens, my patients suffer, not the board."

Lawmakers in both the city and county have called for the KCRHA to be dissolved after the current federal funding cycle concludes. The agency's budget, which stands at $205 million in 2026, is projected to shrink to around $8 million in 2027 as contracts are transferred away.

Seattle City Councilmember Rod Dembowski, representing District One, said the problems may be structural rather than personal. "The organization just hasn't been effective and I'm not sure it's even her fault," he said. "It's really the structure of it. And she came to it with just a lot of problems and she was there a relatively short period of time, probably too short to make significant material changes."

Dembowski said he expects broad support for his resolution to dissolve the agency. "I like that the budget's being reduced. I think it should be reduced more quickly," he said. "We shouldn't have a big overhead operation over there while their responsibilities are being dramatically diminished."

The main obstacle to dissolution is the KCRHA's status as the designated recipient of federal Housing and Urban Development funds. The process is expected to award money in December, around the time Dembowski anticipates a County Council vote on dissolving the agency.

The resignation and looming dissolution raise urgent questions about the future of homelessness services in a region where the need has only grown. For residents and frontline workers like Talen, the stakes are immediate and personal. "My patients suffer, not the board," he said.