Get ready for Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is just around the corner—Nov. 1–15. Many employees will have some significant benefit changes for next year. Look for information mailed recently to your home address and use the following resources to learn about the changes and all of your benefit choices for 2026.
- Go to the Open Enrollment web page. Find everything you need in one place, including links to resources and detailed information about the changes for next year.
- Look for the Open Enrollment mailer sent to your home address or download a copy: Regular Employee Mailer, Transit ATU 587 Employee Mailer, Deputy Sheriff Employee Mailer.
- Sign up for an Open Enrollment Education Session hosted by your King County Benefits Team.
- Plan to stop by one of the Benefit Fairs held in multiple locations in November.
- Watch the Open Enrollment Overview
If you have questions, contact or stop by the Benefits office. Language assistance and disability support services are available.
- Benefits, Payroll and Retirement Operations
- Chinook Building, 2nd Floor
- 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
- 206-684-1556 or kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov
- Closed on Veterans Day: Nov. 11
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Tina Shields recognized for 40 years of service
Crossposted from the DES Express
On Oct. 28, Tina Shields, P-Card Program Manager in Accounts Payable for the Finance and Business and Operations Division, will reach a rare milestone: serving King County for 40 years. The King County Council recognized Shields at their meeting on Sept. 16.
“I came from a very poor background,” Shields said. “I’m one of those people that’s not going to give up even if the odds are against me.”
After working at an insurance company for five years, Shields started her career at King County as an intermediate clerk at Metro’s South Base in 1985. Even though jobs at Boeing paid more money, she preferred a county position for the better benefits. Read more.
Pictured: Left to right, Tina Shields, her brother Bruce Shields, and King County Executive Shannon Braddock.
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Recognizing Metro’s Operators of the Month, July – August 2025
Crossposted from Metro Matters
They enjoy watching the Seattle Sounders and Manchester United. One is a “Proud Country Girl” who enjoys being outdoors. They fish, hunt and travel and play softball and volleyball. Those who ride with them say one went the extra mile to return a lost phone: “I can’t tell you how happy I am to have it back, knowing it was safely with him the entire time.” Another rider talked about their ability to help a distraught passenger: “I was so impressed with her ability, in the midst of snow and ice and a schedule that was being delayed by a distraught person, to remain calm, and be very kind to someone in obvious distress.”
These operators—with over 150 years of transit driving experience—are as unique as you. They also enjoy meeting with their riders and giving back to their communities. Read more.
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King County Metro ridership growth second highest among nation’s largest transit agencies
Crossposted from Metro Matters
Marking ongoing positive ridership growth, King County Metro posted a silver medal win among the 10 largest transit agencies nationwide.
Metro had an estimated 63 million boardings this year through Aug. 31, which is increase and 4.5 million higher than the same time last year. Comparing Aug. 2024 and 2025, we’re seeing about 5,000 more morning boardings, 6,600 more midday boardings and 9,500 more afternoon boardings on an average weekday.
A regional rising star is the RapidRide G Line. Although the new line only just celebrated its one-year anniversary, the G Line is already Metro’s 11th most frequently ridden route. Average weekday G Line boardings rose 86%, climbing from 3,600 in Sept. 2024 to 6,700 in Sept. 2025. Read more.
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Disability services available for employees
This October is the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual recognition of the positive impact of people with disabilities in the American workforce. As we celebrate acknowledgement, it is helpful to be reminded of the amazing Disability Services teams taking care of and supporting King County employees.
Disability Services collaborates with the individual, their healthcare provider, and the appropriate departmental personnel for an individualized analysis of reasonable job accommodations that could effectively meet health or disability needs in the workplace.
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Start something good. Give today.
King County’s Annual Giving Drive is underway, running from Sept. 29 to Nov. 14, 2025. This year’s theme, “Start Something Good,” is a celebration of King County’s strong legacy and invites us to cultivate hope and take positive action. Every act of giving is a fresh beginning. Through the Annual Giving Drive, we can choose to grow the good by supporting causes that matter most to each of us.
Check out this video to learn more about the Annual Giving Drive, ways to give, and how to join!
To see the full list of Employee Giving Program nonprofits and discover more search online or review the 2025 Giving Guide by service category.
Pledge or renew here by Nov. 14.
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Two King County Airport leaders recognized by airport executives’ association
John Parrott, director of King County International Airport-Boeing Field, received the President’s Award of Distinction from the Northwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (NWAAAE) during the chapter’s annual conference in early October. Dave Decoteau, who serves as the airport’s deputy director, was elected first vice-president of NWAAAE during the same gathering in Colorado Springs. Read more.
Pictured below: On left, John Parrott, Director of King County International Airport-Boeing Field, and on right, Dave Decoteau, the airport’s Deputy Director and recently elected first vice-president of NWAAAE.
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King County named Public Agency of the Year
Crossposted from the DES Express
Submitted by the Finance and Business Operations Division
King County received the Public Agency of the Year Award at an awards ceremony last Friday evening, Oct 17. Ken Guy, director of the Finance and Business Operations Division (FBOD), accepted the award on behalf of the County, quipping, “Better never stops.”
The Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council presented the award, which goes to a public agency that demonstrates strong leadership, innovative ideas, and a genuine commitment to supplier diversity and economic inclusion. It recognizes organizations that do more than just meet requirements and actively work to create fair opportunities for minority, women, and disadvantaged-owned businesses through their purchasing and contracting.
“We are proud to receive this recognition,” said Sandy Hanks, manager of FBOD’s Business Development and Contract Compliance (BDCC) unit. “For King County, this honor recognizes the achievements made thus far and supports its ongoing commitment to economic justice and inclusive growth.” Read more.
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What keeps us going when the weeds keep growing
Crossposted from the Noxious Weeds Blog
“What do you say when the [Noxious Weed] work feels futile?”
This was a question that came to us earlier this season from Andrew Munson, a Noxious Weed coordinator over in San Juan County.
It wasn’t a rhetorical question — he was genuinely wondering how other weed professionals handle the hard stuff: the Sisyphean [no end in sight] reputation of Noxious Weed control, the thankless days, the public skepticism, the physical toll, the moments that make you ask what’s the point?
We felt it. Because we’ve all been there.
So we turned the question around and asked our own staff:
What keeps you going in this work? Read more.
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John Hurt’s career: family, service and new horizons
Within days of leaving active duty in the Army, he started as a corrections tech at the King County Jail — where both of his parents worked at the time. Decades later, he’s taking on new challenges as a supervisor. Read more.
Pictured: Corrections Program Administrator John Hurt, left, is congratulated by Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention Director Allen Nance.
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