Third payday of the month, Oct. 31
Almost all King County employees get paid on a biweekly basis, every-other-Thursday, resulting in 26 pay periods per year. You usually receive two paychecks per month, but Oct. 31 will be your third payday of the month. The net dollar amount of these “third” paychecks may be larger because not all deductions are taken out. For example, Deferred Compensation, supplemental insurance premiums, Benefit Access Fees, and Employee Giving donations are not deducted from these checks.
For more information about your paycheck, go to Payroll or speak with your department Payroll representative or timekeeper.
Share this:
Discount available for employees at HomeStreet Bank and Disney on Ice
King County partners with HomeStreet Bank to offer employees the Hometown Home Loan Program. This employer-assisted housing program offers a wide selection of home loan options, whether you are buying your first home, refinancing, or remodeling. Visit the website for more information.
Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA, Oct. 30-Nov. 4, 2019. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866-248-8740, option 1. For questions call the number or email FeldDirectGroups@feldinc.com. Savings will be applied at time of purchase. Order tickets before the deadline on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 11 a.m.
View all available discounts at www.kingcounty.gov/employeediscounts.
Share this:
Getting to know Mohamed Nimeri
Pictured: From left, Mohamed Nimeri, Pavement Engineer, and Paul Cook, Maintenance Manager.
Mohamed Nimeri grew up loving airports. The family moved a lot for his father’s work as Sudan’s ambassador to several countries, so he had quite a bit of experience flying. Although he is from Sudan, he grew up in “a lot of countries,” including the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
King County International Airport recently hired Nimeri as its pavement engineer. He is advancing the state of the industry in pavements, and is one of King County’s most highly trained pavement experts.
Nimeri recently completed graduate school, earning master’s and doctoral degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. In the past five years at UNR, he worked as a researcher, managing large-scale pavement experiments, designing flexible and rigid pavements, and performing laboratory testing.
Prior to his work at UNR, Nimeri managed construction projects in several Middle East countries, where he supervised geotechnical investigations, laboratory testing, and infrastructure work. He also designed retaining walls, shoring systems, and dewatering systems.
Talking with Nimeri, though, you find out he’s quite humble.
“A Ph.D. gives me a license to make mistakes and still get away with it,” he joked.
There are millions of dollars worth of paving projects scheduled at King County International Airport in the upcoming six-year Capital Improvement Program, including $8 million in small runway paving and about $22 million in main runway paving, said Paul Cook, Maintenance Manager.
“By bringing Mohamed on, we’ll be able to do this more scientifically and with metrics,” Cook added.
“Pavement continually deteriorates from day one,” Nimeri said. “You can invest in preventing the problems rather than fixing them.”
Nimeri loves spending time with his wife, Karima, and four children, Lina, Shahd, Ali, and Omar. He is a huge fan of soccer, loves listening to audiobooks and podcasts, hiking, basketball, and volleyball. He also enjoys meeting new people and learning about new cultures.
Please join us in welcoming Mohamed to the airport!
Share this:
Research results show students across U.S. put high value on FLASH curriculum
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Students in different parts of the country overwhelmingly find the FLASH sexual health curriculum, produced by the Family Planning program at Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC), valuable and worth recommending to their peers.
As part of a multi-year study being conducted in the South and Midwest, more than 90 percent of students surveyed say they will use the skills they learned in class in their real lives, and more than 90 percent would recommend FLASH to a friend.
Read more from Public Health Insider
Share this:
ESJ Opportunity Fund now accepting applications, deadline Nov. 22
The Office of Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) is now accepting applications for the Equity and Social Justice Opportunity Fund. The Opportunity Fund is a competitive process that provides resources to King County employees to develop and implement projects that work to advance equity, social justice and King County’s mission to lead with racial justice in support of the ESJ Strategic Plan. Read more in the overview here and download the application here.
Applications are due by or before November 22, 2019. For questions contact Tynishia Walker at TWalker@kingcounty.gov or at 206-263-0534.
Share this:
PeopleSoft team receives innovator award
Pictured: From left to right, Carmel Call, Director of the Business Resource Center; Paco Aubrejaun, SVP for Oracle PeopleSoft; Mike Betschart, PeopleSoft Manager; Joe Isaacks, PeopleSoft Development Technical Lead, and Rebakah Jackson, VP Strategy and Product Management for Oracle PeopleSoft.
Thumbs up to the PeopleSoft team for recognition as an innovator at the recent Oracle OpenWorld conference. They created a disaster recovery option on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, selective adoption (PUM) and improved the user experience with fluid pages.
The team now has a world-wide presence on the PeopleSoft web site. Mike Betschart also made his first official YouTube appearance.
The PeopleSoft team
- Mike Betschart, the PeopleSoft Manager plus his leadership team:
- Tracey Dang
- Hannah Gacey
- Joe Isaacks
- Rey Rodriguez
Technical Team
- Curtis Hanson
- Jay Hsiao
- Ken Kaspersen
- Prasanth Kondugari
- Ampalavanar Mohanakumar
Analyst Team
- Jackie Brown
- James Clopton
- Steve Farnell
- Justin Grover
- Mildred Llarenas
- Terry Olsen
- Kathleen Petersen
- Robert Shroder
- Kevin Wessel
- Morgan Williams
BRC Shared Services team
- Xiaoiu Chen
- Robert Cho
- Geoff Campbell
- Marjorie Mills
- Rupinder Walia
Share this:
Focus on values: We are responsible stewards
Dear employee,
Last month, we launched a monthly focus on our values to help us gain a deeper understanding of King County’s values and how we apply them to our work. This month, we are focusing on the value “We are responsible stewards.”
Being a responsible steward is a value I take very seriously. For me, stewardship is taking care of the resources entrusted to our care.
As Director of the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget, my primary focus is making sure we are strong financial stewards, so people know their money is used efficiently and effectively. As a longtime resident, I work hard to be a good environmental steward to preserve this region and its gifts for future generations. And as an avid history buff, it’s about preserving the deep history and diverse cultures that enrich our region.
Stewardship may mean something different for each of us, but we all play a role in being responsible stewards as a local and regional government. It’s a core component of achieving our True North vision of making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.
Please take a moment to watch our fellow King County employees discuss what “We are responsible stewards” means to them. Your supervisor will also soon discuss what this value means to you and your team, and how it applies to you and your work.
Best regards,
Dwight Dively
Director, Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget
Share this:
Pet of the Week: Leo
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
Looking for a spunky, spirited boy? Look no further than Leo, our Pet of the Week!
This border collie/Boston terrier mix is waiting for his forever home. He was brought in by his previous family because he had a tendency to run off property. (A well-fenced yard at his new home would be good.)
Read more from Tails from RASKC
Share this:
Featured Job: Administrative Specialist II
Salary: $21.91 – $28.75 Hourly
Location: Seattle, WA
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Department: DNRP – Natural Resources & Parks
Job Number: 2019SN10707
Closing: 10/20/2019 11:59 PM Pacific
Learn more about this position or view all available positions.
Share this:
It’s in the mail: Look for Open Enrollment information
Check your home mailbox for important benefits and Open Enrollment information mailed recently to the address you have listed in PeopleSoft. Open Enrollment takes place Nov. 1 – 15 and is your opportunity to:
- Enroll in a Flexible Spending Account—Health Care and Dependent Day Care FSAs reduce your taxable income—saving you money. You must re-enroll every year during Open Enrollment. The Health Care FSA maximum contribution for 2020 is $2,700.
- Select the appropriate Benefit Access Fee—or exemption. If you cover a spouse or domestic partner on your medical plan, a Benefit Access Fee may be automatically applied, depending on your benefit group and the plan you choose. If you qualify for an exemption, you must confirm this each year during Open Enrollment. If no action is taken during Open Enrollment and you later determine that you qualified for an exemption, fees already deducted will not be refunded.
- Change medical plans—Use the Plan Comparison Charts and other resources on the Medical plans page to consider whether Kaiser SmartCare or KingCare Select (Regence) makes sense for your family. These plans will likely save you money, with lower deductibles, copays, and Benefit Access Fees. The KingCare (Regence) plan is also still available. Note: KingCare Select is not available to Deputy Sheriff/PSPMA and TEA-DOT employees.
- Give—Contribute to your favorite nonprofit in the Employee Giving Program during the Annual Giving Drive. Pledges must be renewed each year. Your donations to the nonprofits you selected do not automatically roll over.
What if you don’t participate in Open Enrollment?
- You will remain enrolled in your current medical plan.
- The Benefit Access Fee associated with your medical plan and benefit group will be automatically applied if you cover your spouse or domestic partner.
- You will not be enrolled in a Flexible Spending Account.
- Your other benefit choices will remain the same for next year.
Learn more at Benefits & Retirement Fair
Learn more about your benefits and retirement options at the Benefits & Retirement Fair:
- Oct. 16, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Renton Elections, Alvine Room, 919 SW Grady Way, Renton
Get in-person Open Enrollment help
If you would like assistance with Open Enrollment, stop by one of the following help sessions in the Chinook Building, 401 Fifth Ave., 2nd Floor, Seattle.
- Nov. 6: 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Mimosa Room 222
- Nov. 13: 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Mimosa Room 222
- Nov. 15: 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Rhododendron Room 233
For more Open Enrollment and benefits information:
- www.kingcounty.gov/Open-Enrollment
- Benefits, Payroll and Retirement Operations Chinook Building, 401 Fifth Ave., 2nd Floor, Seattle
- Call 206-684-1556 or email KC Benefits
- 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday – Friday (closed Veterans Day, Nov. 11)
Employee News 