King County creates new inspector general office to fight fraud

The Metropolitan King County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to create a new inspector general office to help close gaps in the county's fraud oversight.

The new office is the latest in a series of county changes in response to an audit last year that found unapproved payments and possible fraud within the county's Department of Community and Human Services, which oversees a more than $1 billion budget. More recently, a Seattle Times investigation outlined how leaders at DCHS knew for years that the department was ill-equipped to safeguard billions of dollars in public grant funding.

A subsequent Seattle Times investigation showed how a King County manager oversaw more than $800,000 in grant payments to five family members, even as red flags passed unnoticed for years.

In May, the county ombuds referred instances of possible fraud, forgery or attempted theft of funds" to law enforcement for potential criminal investigation.

The new legislation sets up a new public hotline to report potential waste, fraud and abuse of county funds and a new inspector general office to investigate the reports.

It does not specify the size of the office, but an analysis by county staff estimates annual costs from about $800,000 for a four-person office to about $2 million for a 10-person office.

The vote was 7-0 with Councilmembers Jorge Barón and Teresa Mosqueda absent. King County Executive Girmay Zahilay's office said he planned to sign the legislation.

The County Council last month approved an initial $600,000 to fund the inspector general. It also approved new funding to update the county's ethics program, whose funding has withered over the last decade.

The new inspector general is the fourth county office or position - joining the county ombuds, the legislative auditor and a new auditor within the executive branch - focused on financial oversight.

The county legislative auditor and the county office of the ombuds both are independent oversight agencies, but their ability to investigate allegations of fraud and waste are limited. The ombuds, for example, handles ethics violations and whistleblower retaliation. It has the authority to look into fraud, but typically relies on outside contractors for more complex investigations.

The new inspector general will have the power to issue subpoenas as part of its investigations.

Councilmember Rod Dembowski, the lead sponsor, said that the vast majority of county contractors are doing good, important work.

"But our county budget has grown now over the biennium to $20 billion and when you have that kind of money going through and the kind of complex operations we have, every now and then you're going to have a bad actor, it happens," Dembowski said. "You've got to have these checks."

Councilmember Reagan Dunn said the new office is a response to oversight processes that were falling short.

"The public has called on this council to address alleged and potential fraud and waste," he said. "Taxpayers I think have had enough. They deserve a government that delivers real accountability and justice for financial wrongdoing.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 6:43 AM.