Lunch and Learn honors veterans
When he entered the civilian workforce, Navy veteran Bryan Fry says one of the hardest parts was finding the “red line.”
“In a blink, your military career is over. You’re done. Time to go home, time to get a job. But, where’s the red line? How do I integrate back home? I had a relationship with order, I had a relationship with the red line and it’s not there anymore,” Fry said at a King County Lunch and Learn called “Increasing Understanding of Our Veteran Employees.”
Moderated by Fry, who is now King County’s Veterans Program Coordinator, the Lunch and Learn included a short film honoring King County’s veteran employees, as well as a panel discussion. Panel members Steven Stamper, Jennifer Schneider, Manuel Martinez, and Renita Borders all are military veterans and King County employees.
The Lunch and Learn was inspired by King County’s goal to be more a more “veteran ready” employer.
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Time is running out for Holiday Food Drive
Falling leaves and falling temperatures mean the giving season will soon be here. However, for many families in King County, this time of year is difficult. They struggle to make ends meet, especially as the weather turns colder and heating bills rise.
For many years now, King County employees have demonstrated their generosity and giving spirit by donating canned and pre-packaged food to our Holiday Food Drive. Collection bins have been stationed at most King County buildings to accept your donations. Donations will be accepted in the bins through Friday, Nov. 21.
As in the past, your donations will benefit Northwest Harvest. The organization is the main distribution point for delivery of commodities to food banks across the entire state. Through Northwest Harvest, we know that your donations will go to families in need at no cost to local food banks or their customers.
Please consider donating so that all of our friends and neighbors can enjoy the holiday season ahead.
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New Website features Martin Luther King County’s African American History
The website www.BlackPast.org has created a special section on the history of notable African-American residents of King County.
The site includes brief profiles of the individuals, organizations, institutions and events that shaped the history of King County. Biographies include Edwin T. Pratt, Norm Rice, Jimi Hendrix, Larry Gossett and Wanda Herndon.
Also included are primary documents, speeches, bibliographies, and a photo gallery related to that history. See more here. The website was created with the help of a grant from 4Culture, King County’s cultural service agency.
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Executive brings together funding partners to help maintain public health services in Auburn
King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced that he has brought together funding partners from local cities, tribes, nonprofits, and companies to help maintain services at the Auburn health clinic for the next two years. He will work with the Metropolitan King County Council to identify the additional funds needed to continue operations during the 2015-2016 biennium.
The Auburn Public Health Center – which includes satellite offices in Enumclaw and the Muckleshoot Reservation – provides health services to 10,000 clients, 97 percent of whom live below the federal poverty line. The Public Health – Seattle & King County staff primarily provides maternity services, nutrition programs and family planning. The clinic had been identified for closure due to declines in state and federal funding.
“This partnership brings together cities, tribal government, nonprofits, and business – united in a shared commitment to the health and prosperity of the people who live here,” said Executive Constantine. “I’m proud of the innovative local solutions we’ve crafted to help maintain important health services, but we must ultimately develop a sustainable funding source for Public Health that our state has lacked for many years.”
To read more, click here.
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LEAN work leads to drop-in locations for Assessments staff
Following the completion of a LEAN session with department staff, the Assessor’s Office has been working in 2014 to place drop-in office locations around the county for appraisal staff as they complete their work in the field.
Three of these drop-in locations are now up and running as appraisal staff begin their physical inspections. These sites are located at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Shoreline District Court, and on Vashon Island at the Community Service Center and the Fire Station. Fleet vehicles are placed at these sites for convenient pick-up, along with working space inside the facilities for the appraisal staff.
The partnerships to develop these new drop-in locations demonstrate a commitment to the “One King County” vision. Assessor’s Office partners include King County Parks Division, King County Shoreline District Court, and on Vashon Island, the King County Facilities Management Division, and the Vashon Island Fire and Rescue Department.
This dispersed office location Lean project combined with a newly designed telecommuting agreement is getting appraisers closers to where they do their field work. The efficiencies gained from not having to report to Black River facility in Renton and usage of better technologies will result in a savings of 2500 hours that would have been wasted in traffic while reducing our carbon footprint.
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Open enrollment closes November 15
If you’re eligible for benefits with the County, you should have received important information about this year’s benefits open enrollment, which will run Nov. 1 – Nov. 15.
2015 benefit highlights
- Regence BlueShield is issuing new KingCareSMmedical cards for next year.
- SmartCare Connect (Group Health) has added a cardiac rehabilitation program.
- You can enroll in a health care flexible spending account with debit card reimbursement.
- You can carry up to $500 of unused health care flexible spending account funds into 2015 and still elect the maximum $2,500 for 2015.
Options during open enrollment
- Change medical plans.
- Add dependents to your coverage.
- Add, increase, decrease or discontinue supplemental accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
- Decrease or discontinue supplemental life insurance or discontinue supplemental long-term disability insurance.
- Confirm your Healthy IncentivesSMcolor for 2015 medical out-of-pocket expenses.
- Update your benefit access fee for 2015, which increases for most KingCareSM members.
If you have questions after your receive your open enrollment information or if you need help during open enrollment, please call us at 206-684-1556 or email kc.benefits@kingcounty.gov.
For more information, click here.
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Need help logging into new KCWeb?
The new KCWeb Intranet is now live and is your new one-stop shop for employee news, information and the tools you use every day – all in one central location.
If you are unable to log in, here are the five steps to follow:
- Open your browser (recommended: Internet Explorer 9 or above).
- Go to SharePoint.kingcounty.gov.
- Type your King County alias followed by “@kingcounty.gov” and, if allowed, your network password into the fields.
- Make sure to check “Keep me signed in” (this will reduce having to login again and again).
- Click “Sign in.”
Get complete instructions here. If you still cannot access the new KCWeb, please contact the KCIT Service Center at 206-263-HELP or helpticket@kingcounty.gov.
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Coverage Is Here King County enrollment reopens Nov. 15
The second open enrollment season for enrolling in Apple Health (Medicaid) or Qualified Health Plan coverage through WA Healthplanfinder runs from November 15, 2014 through February 15, 2015.
In King County, we expect an increase in the number of insurance carriers and Qualified Health Plans from which individuals will be able to choose, and small businesses will also be able to begin purchasing coverage for their employees through WA Healthplanfinder.
In preparation for the new enrollment season, Public Health-Seattle & King County — the lead In-Person Assister Organization for King County — is working on recertifying the county’s 600+ in-person assisters, as well as planning for a series of enrollment events to be held throughout the county. Along with enrolling newly eligible individuals into coverage, in-person assisters are also working on helping residents who enrolled in coverage last year with renewing their coverage for this year.
Information on upcoming enrollment events as well as general information about open enrollment and renewals can be found at www.kingcounty.gov/coverage.
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Discounts to A Christmas Story, Summit at Snoqualmie
5th Avenue Theatre – $25 Tickets to A Christmas Story, November 25-30 (check dates). To get this special deal, use the promotion code FAMILY when you place your order. Click the link: www.5thavenue.org/FAMILY.
Summit at Snoqualmie – Get discounts for yourself and your family with your King County ID. Adult Day Ticket (Ages 13+) = $50 (Regular $68), Adult Night Ticket $33 (Regular $41). See all discounted rates and instructions.
See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Webpage.
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Kudos! Margaret Thompson, Printing Production Specialist/Technician
Margaret Thompson is a Customer Service Hero because customer service is her primary focus even though she is “behind the scenes”. She understands that what she produces in the Print Shop helps other county agencies accomplish their mission of promoting the programs and services King County delivers. Margaret goes above and beyond the norm by immediately contacting her customers when she finds a discrepancy in the work order request. Her patience and dedication to create the best products are displayed when she helps the customer resolve issues associated with their work order requests. Once those issues are resolved, she ensures that the work order is completed and delivered in a timely manner that often exceeds the customer’s expectation.
Margaret’s leadership style provides the foundation of an inclusive and productive working environment at the Print Shop. She consistently welcomes rotating light duty personnel into the Print Shop. Her actions support King County’s Strategic Plan of maintaining a quality workforce because she empowers everyone to be efficient, effective, and productive. Margaret explains and demonstrates how to safely operate the equipment in the Print Shop before assigning jobs to light duty personnel. She always makes sure they know how to operate the equipment and are comfortable with handling it. By empowering light duty personnel assigned to the Print Shop to be efficient, effective, and productive employees, Margaret creates effective partnerships with other agency workforces. These effective partnerships help to develop and retain quality employees to ensure continuity of government – Dave Preugschat, Facilities Management Division.
Employee News 