Re: “King County kept paying contractors despite its own workers’ warnings” (March 25, A1):
King County’s contractor-oversight failures are a risk to each taxpayers and susceptible residents. The issue isn’t funding; it’s the absence of enforceable accountability.
Frontline workers flag points, management hesitates and funds proceed till journalists expose the breakdown. That’s not oversight. It’s a system constructed to disregard warnings.
The county ought to implement automated cost freezes each time misuse is flagged, with impartial assessment earlier than any funds resume. A public quarterly spending dashboard would give taxpayers actual visibility as an alternative of counting on investigative reporting.
State lawmakers should additionally require impartial inspectors common for human-services companies. Self-policing has failed. Stronger whistleblower protections and contract clawback clauses are important to recuperate misused funds. And we want legal investigation and prosecution to discourage wrongdoers.
The Occasions has made the failures unmistakable. Now elected leaders should construct the accountability constructions that shield the general public and the individuals who depend on these providers.
Michael D. Burkhalter, Bellevue
