Local budgets say what cities will do (and not do) about homelessness

How much will Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and Bothell spend to address rising homelessness in the region? Comparing budgets reveals priorities.

A chart from KCRHA shows how much each North King County city contributed to homeless response programs in 2024

It’s budget season at city halls and the Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and Bothell city councils are working on their draft biennial budgets before adoption in December. According to the King County Regional Homeless Authority’s (KCRHA) Point-in-Time Count, the number of homeless people in King County increased 23% since 2022. Here’s a comparison of what local city budgets say they will do (or not do) about regional homelessness in the coming years. 

Five cities in North King County (Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville) have each committed to pool resources and coordinate services with the King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA). Under that agreement, each city committed to contribute at least $1.20 per capita to KCRHA beginning in 2025 but cities are allowed to contribute more and can individually fund additional services. KCHRA recently told the Shoreline city council and the Kenmore city council that North King County needs an emergency shelter that will stay open all year round.

Five cities in North King County (Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Kenmore, and Kirkland) fund the Regional Crisis Response Agency (RCR). The program sends social workers in partnership with police to provide de-escalation and referral services to people experiencing behavioral health emergencies. The city of Kirkland previously provided more funding for the program relative to other cities, but starting in 2025, each city will provide funding on a per-capita basis. 

Bothell and Kenmore belong to A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) which requires cities to contribute $2.87 for every resident each year to fund affordable housing and services for the homeless. In 2023, the Shoreline council directed staff to not pursue membership with ARCH.

A table from Kirkland shows how much cities in North King County contribute to the Regional Crisis Response Agency

Shoreline’s draft budget (reviewed at the September 16 city council meeting) says the city plans to spend at least 1% of its budget on homelessness and human services - totaling $1,267,706 over the next two years. City staff recently asked the council for an additional $323,400 per year. The additional spending would allow the city to hire a dedicated full-time employee, commission an Affordable Housing Feasibility Study, and increase its contributions to the Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Center, provide more money for homelessness outreach, fund a severe weather shelter, provide utility assistance, and pay for holiday baskets. On October 21, the Shoreline police department told the city council the new RCR funding model would result in a 36% increase in costs for the city (from $814,000 to $1,104,000).

According to Kenmore’s Preliminary 2025-2026 Biennial Budget, the city will spend $1,381,354 over the next two years to implement the recommendations from its Human Services Needs Assessment and the Human Services Advisory Committee. Through KCRHA, the city funds Lake City Partners to provide homeless outreach services. The budget says the funds will support mental health counseling, educational assistance, a navigator program to help connect people with services and a utility assistance program. Kenmore will also increase its funding to RCR over the next two years from $342,000 to $450,000. Over the last two years, the city says it collected $453,527 into its Affordable Housing Fund which allows developers to pay the city “fees in lieu” instead of building affordable housing, but the city doesn’t yet have plans to spend money in the fund. 

Kenmore’s budget says it is partnering with Imagine Housing and Habitat for Humanity to develop a vacant lot downtown to build more than 100 affordable homes. Earlier this year, the Kenmore city council backed out of a plan to donate a parcel of land to build 100 units of affordable homes for disabled homelessness seniors after emotional backlash from some residents. The city of Redmond swooped in to save that project (and snagged the tens of millions of dollars already raised for the project). 

According to Bothell’s proposed 2025-2026 budget, the city intends to advance a Human Services Plan but does not specify how much will be spent, where the money will come from or where the money will be spent. Like neighboring cities, Bothell contributes to ARCH, RCR and KCRHA. 

As previously reported, Bothell is seeking to donate a vacant lot downtown (known as Lot P-South) to Bothell United Methodist Church (BUMC) to be developed into affordable housing. According to the plan, BUMC will lease the land to BRIDGE Housing (the developers building affordable housing at the Northgate Transit Station) and provide hundreds of affordable homes, supportive services, job training, and community space. At a meeting on October 8, the Bothell City Council voted 5 to 2 in favor of giving the BUMC more time to secure financing for the project. Mayor Mason Thompson spoke in favor of the project and decried the spread of “untrue rhetoric” in the community. Council member Amanda Dodd also supported the measure and urged her colleagues to stop the spread of misinformation from the dais. Council members Jeanne Zornes and Benjamin Mahnkey are the two member of the council who opposed the project in July and again this month. In 2022, the parcel was appraised at $6 million dollars but some say the city could sell it for more. 

Lake Forest Park uses sales tax revenue from the state to pay for its contributions to KCRHA and in 2024, Lake Forest Park contributed $16,344 to KCRHA to help fund a regional severe weather shelter. The city council is scheduled to receive a presentation from KCRHA at their Thursday, October 24 meeting. Like neighboring cities, Lake Forest Park is also a contributing member of the Regional Crisis Response (RCR) Agency.

Of the cities in North King County, Lake Forest Park has the highest median household income at $152,010, yet (unlike Shoreline, Kenmore and Bothell) the city’s budget does not mention funding for homelessness and human services. The 2025-2026 Mayor's Preliminary Budget includes a $10,200 line item for “social services” but doesn’t specify how that money will be spent. As of Thursday, the city had not responded to an email sent on Tuesday morning to Mayor Tom French and the city council asking if Lake Forest Park had any spending plans on homelessness or human services. 

Information on how to attend city council meetings and participate in upcoming public hearing on the proposed budgets is available at the Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and Bothell websites. 

--Oliver Moffat