State retirement contributions increased Sept. 1 for PSERS
Employee and employer contribution rates for the Public Safety Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) plan increased Sept. 1, 2017, as approved by the State Legislature.
The new contribution amounts will be deducted from your second paycheck in September:
- If you are paid on the 5th and 20th of the month, your new contribution will appear on your September 20 paycheck.
- If you are paid every other Thursday, your new contribution will appear on your September 21 paycheck.
If you have any questions about the rate change, please contact the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) at 800-547-6657 or recep@drs.wa.gov. More information is available on the DRS website at www.drs.wa.gov.
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Industries honored for dedication to clean water
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
Pretreatment protects our workers and our facilities.
Believe it or not, industry is still a major employer in King County, accounting for over 100,000 jobs in the city of Seattle alone.
Another little known fact is how much emphasis our local industries put on environmental stewardship.
One of our responsibilities as a clean-water utility is to regulate facilities that discharge industrial wastewater to our regional sewer system, and we issue permits to make sure this wastewater won’t harm the environment, our workers, or our treatment system.
Permit conditions might call for facilities to regularly monitor and test their wastewater, report the data, and submit to periodic inspections. Many facilities are required to pretreat their wastewater before they send it to the sewer system. Depending on the size and type of operation, industrial dischargers might even invest in specialized equipment or trained personnel to manage the important task of staying in compliance with their permits.
To honor their dedication to clean water, our Industrial Waste Program presented awards to 76 facilities that support our local economy while protecting the natural resources that make our region such a great place to live, work and play.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
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KCDOT works with local consulates to reach Spanish-speaking customers
Crossposted from Inside Transportation
Pictured from left: KCDOT staff Jerry Pionk, Penny Lara, Director Harold Taniguchi, Consul of Mexico Dr.Roberto Dondisch-Glowinski and Metro GM Rob Gannon. Photo by Enrique Payan.
As part of our commitment to delivering accessible service to all residents of King County, regardless of their place of origin, KCDOT leadership recently met with the local consuls of five Latin American nations to help us improve our communications with Spanish-speaking customers.
Nearly one of every 10 King County residents is of Hispanic/Latinx origin, according to the last census, and of those who speak Spanish at home, nearly half say they speak English less than “very well.” Language can become a barrier to using public transit, and elements of Metro’s printed bus schedules are now bilingual in Spanish.
Consuls representing the nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru met with us at King Street Center, while the Consul of Mexico hosted us in his office. Because the consulates are regarded as trustworthy sources of information for immigrant communities, KCDOT Director Harold Taniguchi opened a frank conversation about how Metro Transit can identify gaps in our services and identify new strategies to reach otherwise isolated communities.
Read more at Inside Transportation
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Drug court judge helps people get back on the road to recovery
Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook
For years, Judge James Cayce presided over mostly criminal trials: Child rapes. Murders. One family torture trial stretched out over four months, but despite the difficult nature of the crimes, Judge Cayce enjoyed the work. When the opportunity came along to preside over Drug Court, Judge Cayce hesitated.
“I didn’t want to do drug court at first, but Judge Carey asked me to do Drug Court on Fridays in Kent, so I sat in a couple of times…and I loved it,” he recalls. In January, Judge Cayce took on the full-time role as a judge for Drug Court in both Seattle and Kent.
“So many people come to us with nothing left. They are homeless. They’ve lost their kids and family. They haven’t worked in years and their whole life revolves around their next fix. Slowly, we can turn their whole life around,” he said.
Read more at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook.
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To improve innovation and accountability, Executive Constantine proposes to make Metro its own County department
King County Executive Dow Constantine directed work to begin on a plan to move Metro from a division within the King County Department of Transportation to a standalone County department. This would increase innovation and accountability in four areas: increasing mobility options, capital construction, investing in Metro’s workforce, and expanding the transit system through partnerships.
“This region increasingly depends on fast, reliable transit. So it’s no surprise that Metro is one of our most vital, visible, and popular services,” said Executive Constantine. “By elevating Metro as a standalone department, we can better encourage innovation and accountability so that we continue to make strong progress in mobility, delivering capital investments, focusing on employees, and forging strong community partnerships.”
The move builds on the successes in creating the Metro Connects long-range plan, the ORCA LIFT fare for riders earning lower incomes, and services that are better integrated with Sound Transit.
Read more in the official press release.
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King County TV and Office of Cable Communications manager recognized with national awards
KCTV’s video Digital Connection won first place in the “Use of Social Media” category at the Government Programming Awards, an annual national conference held by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).
The county-operated TV station took home three other programming awards including one in the public health category for a piece on King County’s Heroin Task Force.
NATOA’s annual government programming awards honors excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies. This year, NATOA received more than 900 entries submitted in 65 categories by local governments across the country.
“We are very proud of our talented team,” said KCTV Station Manager James Burns. “Our station is an interactive window on government. It’s our job to connect you with the programs and services that make our community a better place.
NATOA also named Washington State’s WATOA as Chapter of the Year and recognized Chris Jaramillo, manager of King County’s Office of Cable Communications.
Chris, past president of the WATOA chapter and longtime member of NATOA, received a 2017 Ovation Award.
The awards won by King County at the 2017 NATOA awards event includes:
- First Place: Use of Social Media: Digital Connection
- Third Place: Public Health: Heroin Task Force
- Honorable Mention: Documentary: Pioneering Wastewater Treatment in King County and Visual Arts: King County TV Graphics
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Support natural disaster victims through Annual Giving Drive
Dear fellow King County employee:
King County Executive Dow Constantine
In the last month we have witnessed hurricanes tear through Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean as wildfires burned through the Pacific Northwest. To make it easier for employees to give to non-profit organizations helping people to recover from these recent natural disasters, I have asked the Employee Giving Program to open the Annual Giving Drive early.
During the Annual Giving Drive, you have more options available through workplace giving than any other time of year. You can support victims of these disasters by pledging before the deadline, November 17, 2017, and putting the name of the disaster in the dedication portion of your pledge.
There are three ways to give:
- Payroll donation: One time, once a month, or twice a month
- Time donation: Up to three nonprofit organizations
- Check: Made directly out to the nonprofit
To read more about how to support these disasters alongside your favorite Employee Giving Program nonprofits during the Annual Giving Drive visit www.kingcounty.gov/disastergiving. Pledge online or download the paper form here.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as well as the fires sweeping the west serve as reminders that we all need to be ready to care for ourselves and loved ones in the event of disaster. I encourage you to visit www.makeitthrough.org to see what you can do to prepare yourself and your family for a disaster.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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The Cat Condos have arrived!
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
Thanks to the Petco Foundation grant, our long awaited cat condos arrived last Friday and were immediately put to great use by our cat residents who have been excitedly purring and relaxing since being placed in their new homes.
See pictures below or feel free to stop our pet adoption center in Kent!
Read more at Tails from RASKC
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Tech Tip: How to install Office 365 for free at home
We recognize that you do county work from your home devices. So King County provides up to 5 free downloads of Office 365 for those home devices. It’s very easy to access if you have a SharePoint account. Not everyone can access this option at this time. We hope we can get all employees a SharePoint login in the coming year.
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Social Media Spotlight: Solid Waste Division Instagram
SWD provides garbage transfer, disposal and recycling services for approximately 1.3 million residents and 660,000 employees in King County. The King County solid waste system serves a large unincorporated area and 37 of the 39 cities in King County – the cities of Seattle and Milton are not part of the King County system.
Encourage SWD to post more frequently by following @kingCountySWD on Instagram today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Employee News 