Balanced You Conversations: Understanding your benefits with Matt Munson
Balanced You Conversations is a series of talks about important topics related to overall health and well-being.
Karla Clark, Employee Health & Wellness Educator with the Balanced You team sits down with Matt Munson, King County Benefits Navigator. They discuss the work Matt does to help educate all King County employees about their benefits and the options they have, the importance of having a primary care provider, and some of the things he likes to do outside of work.
“I’m always available to talk to employees about the available benefit options and help guide folks to a plan that helps meet their needs,” says Matt Munson.
Check out the video below. For questions about your King County benefits, please contact the Benefits office at kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov.
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ORCA transit ridership grows to 151 million trips
Crossposted from Metro Matters
Regional ridership jumps 12% in 2024
Transit in the Puget Sound region delivered 17 million more trips in 2024 than the prior year, according to six ORCA transit agencies. Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit delivered 134 million trips in 2023 and 151 million trips in 2024.
The growing popularity of transit aligns with recent expansions and improvements across the region. Transit agencies celebrated adding more bus trips, opening new bus rapid transit lines, launching Sound Transit Link light rail extensions, offering more fast ferry and water taxi service, and extending “first-mile, last-mile” options that connect neighborhoods that do not yet have frequent bus or light rail service. Read more.
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Airport unveils new hybrid electric fire truck, cutting air and noise pollution
Crossposted from the DES Express
King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KCIA) is the first airport in the country to receive a hybrid electric airport fire truck to respond to emergencies like aircraft crashes or hangar fires. The Oshkosh® Striker® Volterra™ from Oshkosh Airport Products dramatically cuts greenhouse gas and particulate emissions compared to diesel-only fire trucks.
KCIA’s new hybrid electric fire engine is designed to maximize performance while reducing fuel use, emissions and maintenance costs. The new fire truck is part of the airport’s work to combat climate change and allows the airport to retire its oldest diesel model. Read more.
Pictured: King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KCIA) unveiled its new hybrid electric airport fire truck on March 11.
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Digital Accessibility Training now available in NEOGOV
All King County employees are invited to learn more about digital accessibility in the free course: “Beyond Compliance: Building an Accessible and Inclusive King County,” now available in the NEOGOV Learn catalog. Developed in collaboration with the Office of Equity, Racial, and Social Justice (OERSJ) KCIT, this 45-minute online training is designed to foster a deeper understanding of disability rights, digital accessibility standards, universal design, disability etiquette, and proactive accommodations. This is an introductory course and applicable to all county employees, regardless of their current learning level.
Digital accessibility is crucial to ensure everyone can access vital online information and services, regardless of visual, auditory, motor, cognitive, and speech impairments. King County can promote inclusivity within our technology systems by removing barriers to access for users with disabilities. Thank you for working to make King County a place where every person can thrive!
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Together We Thrive: Employee Engagement Survey is coming soon
The Employee Engagement Survey is returning and will take place March 31 – April 21. We know that to provide great service to the public, King County needs to be a great place to work. The survey is an important tool to help us continue to be one. It also provides an opportunity to check in with employees to learn what is going well and where we need to improve.
That is why your participation is critical – we need each employee to provide feedback about their experience so that we can understand what employees want and need to be fully engaged in their work!
As you may know, we did not conduct an Employee Engagement Survey in 2023 and 2024 due to staffing challenges and the need to find a new survey vendor. Over the past year, the Employee Experience team has been working hard to develop new survey best practices and processes to reflect our current needs. Learn more.
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From the Director’s Desk: Women’s History and Employee Appreciation
From the DAJD newsletter
Women have served in law enforcement nearly as long as official police and corrections departments have been in existence in the U.S. In jails, female staff provided needed care and protection for incarcerated women. Read more.
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King County Security Tips – HTTPS the ‘S’ stands for secure
If you have ever signed in to a website such as Facebook or Amazon, you will notice that on the login page, the URL will change from ‘http’ to ‘https’.
What that little ‘s’ stands for is secure. It means that your web browser and the website have both agreed to communicate securely so that no other individuals will be able to ‘listen in’ on your conversation.
If you needed to communicate some sensitive information such as a password to someone else, you would not shout out in the open ‘HERE IS MY PASSWORD’.
Typing sensitive information into a browser when the URL does not have https, is like shouting out that information for others to hear.
Just remember to look for that little important ‘s’ when transmitting any sensitive information through a web browser.
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“Favorites” link changing to new Employee Intranet homepage
King County has launched a new Employee Intranet homepage, along with an intranet site and updated public-facing pages for the Department of Human Resources (DHR). These changes centralize all employee information into a single portal, accessible only to King County employees, while also making it easier for residents to find what they need on kingcounty.gov.
New pages:
- King County Employee Intranet homepage (SharePoint)
- Department of Human Resources Intranet (SharePoint)
- Department of Human Resources public webpages
On March 11, KCIT will change the quick link in all Executive branch employees’ “Favorites” menu to the new King County Employee Intranet homepage. The “Favorites” menu can be accessed from the Edge browser window on any King County workstation. Employees will find the new link in the dropdown menu under: Favorites/KC Links/KC Employees. This is a fast and easy way to access the new employee intranet homepage. Currently, the KC Employees link takes employees to the old KCWeb homepage which is tentatively scheduled to be deleted on March 31.
This change will give employees a quick and easy way to access important employee-facing news and resources. The link will be updated automatically. No action is needed from employees.
DHR’s existing legacy pages on kingcounty.gov are also tentatively scheduled to be deleted on March 31. If a DHR URL contains the word “legacy,” it is an outdated page and has been replaced by the new sites listed above.
For more details on the new sites and how to access them, view the Fact Sheet and watch instructional videos at vimeo.com/showcase/11535213.
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Try telehealth to receive health care at home
King County employees and family members enrolled in Kaiser and Regence medical plans have access to telehealth services that allow you to virtually access board-certified, trained medical providers from your home, using a tablet, smart phone, or personal computer.
Read this blog for more information on how to access telehealth care for both Kaiser Permanente and Regence members.
Supervisors: Here is a printer-friendly PDF with primary care provider resources to post at your worksites for employees who do not have access to email.
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Pet adopters and foster homes still urgently needed at RASKC
Also: What to do if you lose a pet, or find an animal at large in the community
Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) continues to be overwhelmed with the number of animals at the Pet Adoption Center in Kent. Pet adopters and foster homes are urgently needed to address overcrowding at the shelter.
“All of our dog kennels are full, and in fact we’re ‘double bunking’ some of the smaller dogs to make room,” said Tim Anderson, interim manager at RASKC. “Our cat condos are also overflowing, with peak kitten season still to come.”
All this month, adopters can take home a cat or kitten for just $30 – the cost of a King County pet license. Fees for many dogs have also been reduced to $30. All pets adopted from RASKC are spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped. They also come with 30 days of opt-in pet health insurance from Trupanion. Profiles of all the adoptable pets are online at kingcounty.gov/AdoptAPet. Prospective adopters can also stop by the Pet Adoption Center weekdays from noon to 5 p.m. and weekends noon to 4 p.m. The shelter is located at 21615 64th Ave. S. in Kent. Read more.
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